Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie has welcomed the first of a new range of species that looks set to transform the Park into a must-see visitor attraction in the North of Scotland.

The 12 snow monkeys that have just been introduced will be followed by species such as red pandas, snow leopards, Amur tigers and Amur leopards.

Until now, the Highland Wildlife Park’s animal collection contained species representing Scotland’s past and present such as Scottish wildcats and European wolves.

The expansion of the collection will include many of the existing animals but the remit will be widened to include animals from mountain and tundra habitats from around the world.

The planned re-development is expected to take three to five years and it is hoped that visitor numbers will increase from 67,000 to 100,000 to help fund conservation work in the wild.

David Windmill, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which owns both Highland Wildlife Park and Edinburgh Zoo, said: “Highland Wildlife Park has the potential to make a real difference in helping to preserve endangered species such as the Amur leopard, of which there are less than 50 remaining in the wild. It is an ideal and spacious environment for these species and we hope to become involved in breeding programmes in the near future.”

Daska Mackintosh, visitor services manager for Highland Wildlife Park, said: “The snow monkeys look fantastic in their new purpose-built enclosure and we are sure that they will be extremely popular with visitors.

”The 12 monkeys we have here will soon be joined by another troop so we will eventually have around 33 monkeys as well as all the other exciting species we will be introducing over the next couple of years.”