Bristol Zoo Project Bristol zoo project news 2025

Charles said:
A mixture of information

the zoo has released a teaser of what’s going to be in the tropical house, I’m not too eagle eyed so not too sure of what birds are what but this is the link to it Bristol Zoo Project on Instagram: "VERY soon... Can you guess what it is?"

as well when I visited yesterday there was a transportation box in the ostrich and goat enclosure, not too sure why
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Going from the first species shown in the montage:
  1. A lizard (quite possibly Henkel's leaf-tailed gecko, as that was one species mentioned in the planning document)
  2. Grosbeak starling
  3. A beetle (possibly a Eudicella species)
  4. Mindanao bleeding-heart dove
  5. A giant flower beetle (a Mecynorhina species)
  6. Orange-headed thrush
  7. Radiated tortoise
  8. Palawan peacock-pheasant
  9. Turquoise dwarf gecko
  10. I think possibly a superb fruit-dove
  11. A Pachnoda marginata beetle
  12. Victoria crowned pigeon
  13. A definite Eudicella beetle
  14. Lesser Malay chevrotain
 
Charles said:
A mixture of information

the zoo has released a teaser of what’s going to be in the tropical house, I’m not too eagle eyed so not too sure of what birds are what but this is the link to it Bristol Zoo Project on Instagram: "VERY soon... Can you guess what it is?"

as well when I visited yesterday there was a transportation box in the ostrich and goat enclosure, not too sure why
Click to expand...

The Ostrich are moving next to the zebra (where the hogs were). Sitatunga have been mentioned to replace the ostrich?
The red vented cockatoo are quite visible from the plinth of the adjacent toilet block at the moment, alongside half of the Grey parrot flight.
The Laughing Thrush (unsigned) were very active today, as were the weavers.
The new walled garden area looks great and there was some construction of wooden pergolas taking place in front of the new tropical/butterfly tunnel.
Shout out to the lemur staff who gave me so much of their time at the end of their shift and the quite amazing volunteers at Cheetah, Gelada and Savannah who who were so pro-active and helpful. I enjoy the laid back nature of this place and hope it retains some of this charm as it grows.
 
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TriUK said:
The Ostrich are moving next to the zebra (where the hogs were). Sitatunga have been mentioned to replace the ostrich?
The red vented cockatoo are quite visible from the plinth of the adjacent toilet block at the moment, alongside half of the Grey parrot flight.
The Laughing Thrush (unsigned) were very active today, as were the weavers.
The new walled garden area looks great and there was some construction of wooden pergolas taking place in front of the new tropical/butterfly tunnel.
Shout out to the lemur staff who gave me so much of their time at the end of their shift and the quite amazing volunteers at Cheetah, Gelada and Savannah who who were so pro-active and helpful. I enjoy the laid back nature of this place and hope it retains some of this charm as it grows.
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That’s interesting to know, unsure why there getting so many least concern species when they’ve talked about how they want to increase their numbers of threatened species
 
Rajang-GOAT said:
African Forest update: May 2025!
The zoo posted another YouTube update on the African Forest exhibit yesterday, with the animal houses "progressing quickly" and the moat "nearly ready to be filled".
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They've done the moat pretty quickly but it seems to end part way around the island afaicansee? Not sure what will contain the rest. A wall? The island is very well wooded but doesn't look much( if any?) bigger than the current 'Gorilla Island' at the old zoo. (They say the total space is x4 what they have now.)
 
jtrbmvcq said:
Maybe it will look bigger in person but I am too struggling to see how that is 4 times larger than the gorilla enclosure at the old site.
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The zoo have not said the gorilla area itself only or the area only for their use is 4 x larger than the old gorilla enclosure. They've mentioned the shared area is which implies the complex size is different I would think (also includes the parrots, fish etc) and that the size comparison refers to the whole area labelled 'Central African Forest'

"The gorillas and mangabeys will be living in an area four and a half times the size of the gorilla troop’s current home at the former Bristol Zoo Gardens."

Bristol Zoo Project
 
I could be wrong but does the gorilla area actually encompass both tree covered areas shown with a long clear patch in between so the island can be separated? If so it is larger in my opinion.
 
Al said:
I could be wrong but does the gorilla area actually encompass both tree covered areas shown with a long clear patch in between so the island can be separated? If so it is larger in my opinion.
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Yes, the whole moated area should be part of the enclosure. The plans show a wall splitting the area into a smaller and larger half, presumably to help accommodate the mix with Cherry-crowned mangabey.
Bristol Zoo Project: Masterplan and Central… | Grant Associates
Pertinax said:
They've done the moat pretty quickly but it seems to end part way around the island afaicansee? Not sure what will contain the rest. A wall? The island is very well wooded but doesn't look much( if any?) bigger than the current 'Gorilla Island' at the old zoo. (They say the total space is x4 what they have now.)
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Indeed the plans show a wall surrounding the western area of the enclosure, connecting to the left of the house. I suppose different viewing opportunities are a good idea.
 
Lafone said:
The zoo have not said the gorilla area itself only or the area only for their use is 4 x larger than the old gorilla enclosure. They've mentioned the shared area is which implies the complex size is different I would think (also includes the parrots, fish etc) and that the size comparison refers to the whole area labelled 'Central African Forest'

"The gorillas and mangabeys will be living in an area four and a half times the size of the gorilla troop’s current home at the former Bristol Zoo Gardens."

Bristol Zoo Project
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Well I still read that as just the area available to the gorillas, not the CARF as a whole. But if that's not the case then I think the wording is misleading.
 
Al said:
I could be wrong but does the gorilla area actually encompass both tree covered areas shown with a long clear patch in between so the island can be separated? If so it is larger in my opinion.
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I have a feeling there could be two outdoor areas as they have no doubt been requested by EEP to provide extra housing for either surplus males or a split group if necessary. I think BZP mentioned this somewhere also. But still not sure from this drone footage how it will work.
 
Pertinax said:
Well I still read that as just the area available to the gorillas, not the CARF as a whole. But if that's not the case then I think the wording is misleading.
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I guess as it says Gorillas and Mangabeys it is at least the size of their areas and housing vs only Gorillas (Although outdoor area shared I assume some sort of split housing and perhaps something off show seperation wise) it's just not one thing. And if they say 4 x the size well that's the fact until it's proved otherwise isn't it?
 
Lafone said:
I guess as it says Gorillas and Mangabeys it is at least the size of their areas and housing vs only Gorillas (Although outdoor area shared I assume some sort of split housing and perhaps something off show seperation wise) it's just not one thing. And if they say 4 x the size well that's the fact until it's proved otherwise isn't it?
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Yes the Mangabeys will certainly have their own housing but probably it will be mostly offshow and I imagine it won't take up very much of the total area.
 
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Pertinax said:
I have a feeling there could be two outdoor areas as they have no doubt been requested by EEP to provide extra housing for either surplus males or a split group if necessary. I think BZP mentioned this somewhere also. But still not sure from this drone footage how it will work.
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I believe the island will be able to be divided into two or left whole, and that the mangabeys will have an outdoor cage (I presume offshow). This would give them flexibility in case of mangabeys not mixing + breeding group + bachelor(s) all having an outside space.

I think it is quite naughty if they are implying the gorillas will receive 4.5x the space if is really that the entire CAF is 4.5x larger than the Clifton gorilla enclosure.
 
Pertinax said:
Someone from their Ape staff spent time in Frankfurt to study the same mix in advance of them doing it. Dublin have the same mix too . I don't anticipate any problem. But I am interested in just how big the Gorillla/Mangabey area really is.
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Dublin as far as I know no longer have this mix. Not sure when it ended or why however..
 
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