Bristol Zoo Project Bristol zoo project news 2024

Charles said:
The zoo announced on their Instagram that their new red panda is called Nilo and that he will be arriving very soon

Bristol Zoo Project on Instagram: "Meet our new red panda, Nilo! He will be joining us at Bristol Zoo Project very soon Find out more at the link in bio!"
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It’s never easy to tell Red Pandas apart but I wonder if Nilo is moving from Whipsnade as the marks next to his nose look very similar and that’s a very Whipsnade looking tree. Face isn’t quite the same and looks a bit younger though. Was only the name that made me think of it.

Probably not if this is him from their website as can’t think this is Whipsnade wall wise
 

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Visited today a few updates

The red panda habitat looks complete other then climbing frames so it seems like they will be there extremely soon

another path has closed again by the giraffes and the pond near appears to have been drained

finally the Sumatran laughing thrush avairy is still empty and signage for the turtle doves have been removed and none were visible in there
 
I'm sure I read an article on the internet about them selling off some of the land, from Hollywood towers for housing is it true that they are doing it, and if so isn't it going to have a truly negative impact on what was once a fabulous zoo and one that is going to have less species than shaldon, because at the moment the place seems to stumble from one disaster to the next,they seem to be the Banham of the South west, but then I believe that they have the same wonderful zoo consultant as Banham so is it any surprise that they are getting bad advice.
 
Laboratory 7 said:
I'm sure I read an article on the internet about them selling off some of the land, from Hollywood towers for housing is it true that they are doing it, and if so isn't it going to have a truly negative impact on what was once a fabulous zoo and one that is going to have less species than shaldon, because at the moment the place seems to stumble from one disaster to the next,they seem to be the Banham of the South west, but then I believe that they have the same wonderful zoo consultant as Banham so is it any surprise that they are getting bad advice.
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i haven't read that anywhere, if it were true its most likely down by the lower fields away from the current zoo

the lower fields aren't currently planned to have anything on them and even so they are difficult to get to so it would be alot of investment to make this area suitable to be a part of the zoo however i do doubt that they would
 
Laboratory 7 said:
I'm sure I read an article on the internet about them selling off some of the land, from Hollywood towers for housing is it true that they are doing it,
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There has indeed been some discussion about this. Seems like it would be about a third of the total estate. Not sure if reality or rumour though or whether actually happening yet. It is marked as being the Northern section of open land beyond the wooded belt- about a third of the total estate. Its unlikely that part would ever be developed as part of the zoo site anyway and if it happens would still leave them about 90 acres(?). But Bristol do seem to be having problems with all this changeover from the old zoo.
 
Pertinax said:
There has indeed been some discussion about this. Seems like it would be about a third of the total estate. Not sure if reality or rumour though or whether actually happening yet. It is marked as being the Northern section of open land beyond the wooded belt- about a third of the total estate. Its unlikely that part would ever be developed as part of the zoo site anyway and if it happens would still leave them about 90 acres(?). But Bristol do seem to be having problems with all this changeover from the old zoo.
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Thanks for confirming that I hadn't dreamt it up, it does seem to be that they are currently getting a lot of bad advice from someone and I for one could never understand them closing the Clifton location,it was reasonable to reach by car and public transport and the new site is only reasonable by car,yes there is public transport to the retail park opposite but I certainly wouldn't want to walk the distance across that motorway junction to reach the new site. It seems to me as if they over estimated the amount of money they would get from the Clifton site and the amount of ill feeling they received for doing it and ever since they have been on a back foot, since they closed the Clifton site, they never came out and said what animals were being moved to the new site which to me only said one thing and that was very little was going to move, the once very respectable reptile, aquarium and invert sections have been butchered and probably wouldn't even reach the top 10 in the UK now and that is something that cannot be defended.
 
There is a bus service that stops just outside the new site (stagecoach 12) also covered on the website and I was talking to a volunteer who catches the bus for their days at the zoo so it appears to be a way to get there that works.

Whether it was a mistake to sell the old site or move out of it (and no one seems a fan of it as a decision) the move has happened and it’s not likely to change back. If it’s a disaster then in the end it will not be viable and it’ll shut which I guess will delight some people. Won’t be much fun for the staff or the animals of course but that’s life.

I’d hope they make a success of it, in the end, different as it may be, as what they have is interesting and well put together though clearly very different from what went before.
 
Lafone said:
There is a bus service that stops just outside the new site (stagecoach 12) also covered on the website and I was talking to a volunteer who catches the bus for their days at the zoo so it appears to be a way to get there that works.

Whether it was a mistake to sell the old site or move out of it (and no one seems a fan of it as a decision) the move has happened and it’s not likely to change back. If it’s a disaster then in the end it will not be viable and it’ll shut which I guess will delight some people. Won’t be much fun for the staff or the animals of course but that’s life.

I’d hope they make a success of it, in the end, different as it may be, as what they have is interesting and well put together though clearly very different from what went before.
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Seems to be a common feature when you have a certain person being a consultant at your zoo because Banham is in a bit of a mess and they left another zoo in a bit of a mess, but people on here seem to think that they are a saint. What was a mistake was closing the old zoo before everything was sorted, because now they don't have the funds to build the new zoo, I wish them all the best because they are going to need it.
 
Laboratory 7 said:
Seems to be a common feature when you have a certain person being a consultant at your zoo because Banham is in a bit of a mess and they left another zoo in a bit of a mess, but people on here seem to think that they are a saint. What was a mistake was closing the old zoo before everything was sorted, because now they don't have the funds to build the new zoo, I wish them all the best because they are going to need it.
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BZS will inevitably make more money off the eventual sale of the old Clifton site than they would from ticket sales over the same period, even if the sale continues to take a while. As slow as progress is for the new site, ultimately it's open, it's popular, and once the money rolls in from the sale developments will hopefully come quickly. I do think certain choices made with the site show that there was a significant amount of thought put into the entire process, notably maintaining or making small adjustments to the already very good exhibits currently present while cash flow is relatively stunted.

Time will tell I guess. But aside from the name change, I think that it's OK to be cautiously optimistic. But as we all know, a Bristol based zoo can only be deemed a success once there are gorillas and okapis present.
 
Lafone said:
It’s never easy to tell Red Pandas apart but I wonder if Nilo is moving from Whipsnade as the marks next to his nose look very similar and that’s a very Whipsnade looking tree. Face isn’t quite the same and looks a bit younger though. Was only the name that made me think of it.

Probably not if this is him from their website as can’t think this is Whipsnade wall wise
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A reply to a comment on social media from BZP suggests that Nilo is moving from Whipsnade.
 
Rajang-GOAT said:
A reply to a comment on social media from BZP suggests that Nilo is moving from Whipsnade.
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Looks Whipsnade like in the pictures indeed - on the enclosure he’s in it still says he’s due back in the main enclosure in April (as of Saturday) But Whipsnade signage…having said that his father was called Nilo too.
 
A little searching and the Bristol zoo picture of their new red panda is a Whipsnade picture which appears to be Nilo.

I’d say that one is an older picture (he was born at Whipsnade and at the time of the cubs birth he was in the other enclosure with them, this it the other enclosure).

The Whipsnade picture (appeared at the time of the cubs birth) is on this article

https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2023-08-02/endangered-baby-red-pandas-born-at-zoo

And the one from Bristol social media appears to be the same photo cropped down.

Both photos below.

That would suggest it is Nilo who is moving. Given it’s Whipsnade’s picture.

And as Rajang mentioned it is stated on social media it is him and he is moving pre Easter.

I think you know when you go to a zoo often when you recognise a tree lol.

Will miss Nilo at Whipsnade but as a Bristol visitor hope to see him in his new home.
 

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Lafone said:
It’s never easy to tell Red Pandas apart but I wonder if Nilo is moving from Whipsnade as the marks next to his nose look very similar and that’s a very Whipsnade looking tree. Face isn’t quite the same and looks a bit younger though. Was only the name that made me think of it.

Probably not if this is him from their website as can’t think this is Whipsnade wall wise
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Also I could slightly kick myself..have realised that picture was taken from inside the old enclosure and as a visitor you just don't see the wall looking that tall (as you look down inside the enclosure from the edge). So know a tree, not so hot on the walls...
 
cerperal said:
Time will tell I guess. But aside from the name change, I think that it's OK to be cautiously optimistic. But as we all know, a Bristol based zoo can only be deemed a success once there are gorillas and okapis present.
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I do agree with that last statement. The faster they get the Gorilla accomodation started and finished and move them over there the better. And though they may not realise it, Okapi is almost equally important as a flagship species, they need to get them back as soon as possible too. With just those two species, they would raise the new zoo's profile considerably.
 
Lafone said:
There is a bus service that stops just outside the new site (stagecoach 12) also covered on the website and I was talking to a volunteer who catches the bus for their days at the zoo so it appears to be a way to get there that works.

Whether it was a mistake to sell the old site or move out of it (and no one seems a fan of it as a decision) the move has happened and it’s not likely to change back. If it’s a disaster then in the end it will not be viable and it’ll shut which I guess will delight some people. Won’t be much fun for the staff or the animals of course but that’s life.

I’d hope they make a success of it, in the end, different as it may be, as what they have is interesting and well put together though clearly very different from what went before.
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There are plans for a future bus service to pull into the site once the new entrance development has been completed (although appreciate there’s no start date for that yet!)

I caught a bus from Bristol Temple Meads once, which takes a good hour (?). Although it’s then a walk along busy roads and under the motorway, I was pleased to see a pathway into BZP across their car park so that I didn’t have to walk on the road and enter via the car entrance.

The zoo are defo aware that they need to sort the public transport offer.
 
Visited today

saw almost everything today and on the website it says that they received 2 new gelada back in February

still no sign of the turtle doves in the weaver bird aviary and still no signage for them

there was work going on behind the pizzeria

the red panda enclosure looks finished and there is a sign near the enclosure now saying that the central African forest will open summer 2025
 
Pertinax said:
There has indeed been some discussion about this. Seems like it would be about a third of the total estate. Not sure if reality or rumour though or whether actually happening yet. It is marked as being the Northern section of open land beyond the wooded belt- about a third of the total estate. Its unlikely that part would ever be developed as part of the zoo site anyway and if it happens would still leave them about 90 acres(?). But Bristol do seem to be having problems with all this changeover from the old zoo.
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Have you got a link to the discussion or article? I've had a good rummage but not spotted anything.
 
Pertinax said:
It was in 'World Zoo News' facebook page. Showed a large hatched area that was being discussed...
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So that is where I saw it,if I remember correctly a number of ex Bristol employees, were saying what a stupid idea it was,as that was the bulk of the land without any problems with the nature of the land or something on it that would cause a problem to getting planning for building on.
 
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