Agree entirely but I think they are hamstrung by the continued delay in the sale of the old site. I don't know if this very staggered development was what they had originally planned or if it has been created by unexpected circumstances.
Bristol Zoo Project Bristol zoo project news 2024
- Thread starter Charles
- Start date
cerperal
Well-Known Member
The rhino was originally intended to be introduced to their Savannah section before the gorillas were even added to the site, as aside from the stables very little would actually need to be done to prepare the zoo for it. However last I heard the date of the rhino introduction had been pushed back from spring-2025 to an unconfirmed date later, with a lot of this owing to ground conditions preventing work earlier this year. The original plan was to have at least rhino in 2025 to boost visitors next year, but I would be surprised if that happened before 2026 now.
I agree. I remember when Bristol was the only British zoo to have okapis
Charles
Well-Known Member
I would hope that rhinos arrive in the following year, as someone has mentioned, the land for the rhino enclosure has less to be prepared however there were manny more delays for the gorillas then suspected but if they don’t come in the following year I’d suspect the zoo would bring something in, what I don’t know but the area for reptiles is now been mentioned which it hadn’t before
This is exactly what makes me feel uneasy. The development has stalled since it the idea of relocation from the old Clifton site to on the outskirts of Bristol was first announced.
Of course, part of the explanation is in the NIMBY Clifton lot that are still more than a year+ on from closure of Bristol Zoo - Clifton site still fighting a backstreet war with the West of England Zoological Society over what comes up at the old zoo site in lofty - student town-upwardly mobile YUP Clifton.
IMO, the Bristol Wildlife Park site should come up at full speed and pace with every year and a half a new habitat - themed region coming up.
cerperal
Well-Known Member
Its certainly not stalled, it's just not moving at the pace they wanted. There's currently an awful lot of work going on, slowing down for winter and due to our recent poor weather, but overall they're still fairly on track. I've spoken to staff up there relatively recently and the majority of visitors they get are local to the Bristol area, plus there's a large advertising campaign on buses in the region as well, so by the sound of things they're doing alright for foot traffic and therefore funds. I'd be surprised if they hadn't factored in the Clifton NIMBYs into their plans, given they were always grumbling about the zoo (and yet can't stand the idea of it being gone, weird that).
I genuinely think the most important thing for BZP in the short-term is not to fast track construction but to get the bus services running directly to the zoo - this will also open up the student sector from the 4 local universities.
I probably shouldn't be sharing this but given it didn't go anywhere I may as well, but we tried to get a conservation project with BZP sorted at Bath University last year, and the only issue (and quite a major one at that) was transport - Cribbs is a pain to get to and the area in general is in desperate need of a loop service connecting the city centre to Cribb's, Filton and potentially Temple Meads.
Agreed on the transport issue ..., it is close on dramatic and it needs to be sorted with Bristol City bus services. The Clifton site had excellent links to the city by bus and public transport. Where Cribbs is concerned ... you have been delivered to the hell hound dogs of public disservices.
I would be interested to see the financial statements for 2023 and 2024 for the Society and how Bristol Wildlife Park is doing financially and investment wise!
I agree with most of what’s been said here. At some point, the core infrastructure of the visitor experience & staff admin will have to be built, from car parks & toilets, to staff room/offices & vet centres.
There is a railway link to Avonmouth & Severn Beach which are not far geographically, which could be linked to the site perhaps, with electric buses?
There is a railway link to Avonmouth & Severn Beach which are not far geographically, which could be linked to the site perhaps, with electric buses?
ZooNews2024
Well-Known Member
Publically funded bus services are being continually cut back across England, affecting ALL rural businesses, zoos included.
If public transport really is the issue, lets hope it is not wishful thinking that this one proves to be the exception.
At present there are quite a lot of folk sporadically grousing about it on their FB pages. Horror stories of how long it takes them to get out there etc. and why don't they improve access. Its great for cars of course being right by the M5.
Last edited:
Much as it would be desirable I don't think we can expect that anytime soon as they are not in the same financial league as e.g. Paira Daiza who would probably have a complete zoo built there by now.(!) At PD, one of their annual 'Land of the...' developments is sometimes on a par with the currently developed part of the BZP site.
Last edited:
I remember when they first arrived at Bristol circa 1964.( Happy to be corrected on which exact year). They have had them continuously ever since, until the last one left the BZP quite recently. Some were held at this site in the past too, when it was the 'Hollywood Towers estate'- the sometime storage place for Bristol surplus animals. Okapi from Bristol form a multi-generational segment of the European population too.
I believe Bristol's first okapi arrived in 1961.
Thanks. It was a single female 'Bakeda'. A male came with her but he sadly died just as the plane landed in the UK- presumably from the shock of the touchdown. A replacement bull 'Mazanga' was soon obtained. Though they started breeding soon after, the first two(?) calves died very young. They later found they were suffering from Aspergillosis, contracted from spores in the hay/straw bedding. It was quickly replaced with peat and the next calf (1966?) was successfully reared.
I was not implying anything like PD and financial leeway. I was enquiring as to the financial situation at BWP and for now I am a bit under the impression not everything is well and good (given that the real estate deal for Clifton site is still hanging in the balance (where any further development at BWP really depends upon what the sale value for the Clifton site will be / do!!!?.
Anyone - yet - with directions to the financial statements for BWP/Bristol Zoo-Clifton and the West of England Zoological Society????
I think that is very likely to be the case though I do not have the 'ins and outs' of the current situation.
Going back to the Drill conversation, is there not too little of a gene pool now in zoos?
I remember talk of getting them from a rescue centre in Nigeria/Cameroon years ago?
I remember talk of getting them from a rescue centre in Nigeria/Cameroon years ago?
On this slightly off-topic subject: I think it would be really useful to have regular exchange of individuals between the Nigerian sanctuary and some of the European zoos. A quid pro quo could be the zoos getting behind a larger scale project and/or endeavour to create a new drill wildlife reserve to reintroduce the species from where it has disappeared with a multi pronged project for other endangered primates of Nigeria (the Cercopithecinae) and with local communities participating in the in situ project.
ZooNews2024
Well-Known Member
For the UK at least, imports would have to be second generation captive bred, as no CITES permits are granted for wild-caught primates.