Bristol Zoo

Its owner, the Bristol Zoological Society, made the decision to close it due to financial pressures caused by the pandemic, and focus its resources on its ...

She added: "With the move to the new zoo, what's going to be really exciting is a lot more of our animals on site - over 80 per cent in the beginning and 90 per cent eventually – will be linked to our conservation work." Dr McCabe said some of the animals might struggle with the change, but added: "I think that, in the end, it will be a much, much more enjoyable experience for them in a more natural enclosure, and so it really is the best thing for these animals to be moving up to this new site." Under plans currently under consideration, the site would retain its botanic gardens and they would be open to the public free of charge on a daily basis. He said Bristol Zoological Society will be forced to sell the Clifton site in order to expand Wild Place, but is keen to leave a lasting legacy in the city. Asked what she is most excited about with the big move, Dr McCabe said: "One of the best things I think about Wild Place is it will be much more like what I feel like when I go in the forest in the wild to see the animals. "Bristol Zoo is one of those classic zoos - it originally started as a menagerie, as many zoos did, and it has a lot of history here," she said. The society has owned the site of the Wild Place Project, just off Junction 17 of the M5, since the 1960s, but for many years had only used it for breeding and quarantine purposes and it was not open to visitors. Dr Grainne McCabe, head of field conservation and science, said the move will allow the zoo to expand its work protecting some of the world's most threatened species. But in 2008 the society submitted plans to the council for a 55-hectare walking safari park, and Wild Place opened five years later. The zoo opened its doors in Clifton in 1836, making it the fifth oldest zoo in the world, and it still has many of its original Victorian buildings, such as its gate house, the old giraffe house and its monkey temple. Its owner, the Bristol Zoological Society, made the decision to close it due to financial pressures caused by the pandemic, and focus its resources on its sister site in south Gloucestershire. Bristol Zoo is expecting a bumper crowd this Saturday as it prepares to close its doors after 186 years and move to a new site.

Wishing to wave a bittersweet goodbye to the zoo's famous occupants, including seals, lions, tree kangaroo, meerkats, and Livingstone fruit bats, visitors this ...

“I am very attached to this place, this is pretty much the only job I’ve ever had. “I am very proud of the things I’ve been able to do in the zoo and the way we have changed over the years, the kind of conservation and public engagement we do that I am so passionate about. [@bristol247]Bye bye @bristol_zoo 🥺 [#bristol] [#bristol247] [#bristolzoo] [♬ Home (Option 3 – The Young Ebenezers] [Plans for 200 homes on Bristol Zoo Gardens site submitted](https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/plans-for-200-homes-on-bristol-zoo-gardens-site-submitted/) [Giant radioactive octopus invades Bristol Aquarium](https://www.bristol247.com/culture/film/giant-radioactive-octopus-invades-bristol-aquarium/) [16 things to do in Bristol this week, September 5-11 2022](https://www.bristol247.com/guides/things-to-do/16-things-to-do-in-bristol-this-week-september-5-11-2022/) [£95,000 awarded to Bristol organisations taking climate and nature action](https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/95000-bristol-organisations-taking-climate-and-nature-action/) “We have a cousin that got married here as well so there’s a lot of memories and symbolism here so we wanted to take the chance to come here before it closes.” “We’ve been here several times throughout our lives, as most Bristol residents have, but the reason we are here today so close to the closure is because our mum passed away last year and one of the most significant memories we have, especially photographed, is visiting the zoo with her,” Tom Whitfield told Bristol24/7 beside his sister Henrietta Ingram.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park has joined conservation centres across the UK in giving a home to animals from Bristol Zoo, which is closing after 186 years.

Read MoreFamily adventure days Sheffield: Gulliver's Valley, Yorkshire Wildlife Park and ... [Bristol Zoo](/topic/bristol-zoo) opened its doors in in 1836, making it the fifth oldest zoo in the world. [taken in earlier this year](https://www.thestar.co.uk/whats-on/things-to-do/yorkshire-wildlife-park-three-cute-lemurs-are-latest-arrivals-at-doncaster-attraction-3656691) by [Yorkshire Wildlife Park](https://www.thestar.co.uk/topic/yorkshire-wildlife-park) in [Doncaster](/topic/doncaster).

Team of experts will spend more than a year moving animals to new homes once Bristol Zoo closes its doors for the final time | ITV News West Country.

"We know they're going to very good homes but it is sad." Black rhinos will also live at the new zoo. As soon as we found out the zoo was closing, so for over a year now, our curators have been working very hard finding new homes for the animals, calling up other zoos."

The zoo opened its doors in Clifton in 1836, making it the fifth oldest zoo in the world, and it still has many of its original Victorian buildings, such as its ...

Under plans currently under consideration, the site would retain its botanic gardens and they would be open to the public free of charge on a daily basis. Dr McCabe said some of the animals might struggle with the change, but added: “I think that, in the end, it will be a much, much more enjoyable experience for them in a more natural enclosure, and so it really is the best thing for these animals to be moving up to this new site.” “One of the best things I think about Wild Place is it will be much more like what I feel like when I go in the forest in the wild to see the animals.

The zoo opened in Clifton in 1836 and is the fifth oldest zoo in the world - it still has many of its original Victorian buildings, such as its gatehouse, ...

Under plans currently under consideration, the site would retain its botanic gardens and they would be open to the public free of charge on a daily basis. The children’s play area and theatre building would also be kept open as a community space for workshops and events. “We’re not just selling to a developer and running off with the money. Simon Garrett has worked at the Bristol Zoo for 32 years, having taken a summer job there in 1989, and is now head of public engagement. She added: “With the move to the new zoo, what’s going to be really exciting is a lot more of our animals on site – over 80% in the beginning and 90% eventually – will be linked to our conservation work.” Dr McCabe said some of the animals might struggle with the change, but added: “I think that, in the end, it will be a much, much more enjoyable experience for them in a more natural enclosure, and so it really is the best thing for these animals to be moving up to this new site.”

Born Free welcomes the decision by the Bristol Zoological Society to close the zoo site which had long become outdated and wholly inadequate.

Zookeeper Becky Scott gives a fruit bat a health check. The animals are being moved to a new site in Gloucestershire. (Image: Ben Birchall/PA Wire)1 ...