Bristol Zoo (Closed) The last crusade: Bristol

pipaluk said:
I will make my final pilgrimage to the zoo next week, 49 years (I think) after my first visit. This will always be remembered as the first place I saw an Okapi (it was only seen as a britains plastic animal until then!)
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Bristol was the first place I saw an okapi or a white tiger. I painted an okapi for my Art O-Level.
 
pipaluk said:
I will make my final pilgrimage to the zoo next week, 49 years (I think) after my first visit. This will always be remembered as the first place I saw an Okapi (it was only seen as a britains plastic animal until then!)
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Dassie rat said:
Bristol was the first place I saw an okapi or a white tiger. I painted an okapi for my Art O-Level.
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I too have fond memories from Bristol Zoo of the okapis and white tigers.

However my three favourite Bristol Zoo species were the tarsiers, the pacarana and, especially, the Siberut macaque. I was fortunate enough to see the latter on a number of occasions; I am quite certain that I'll never see another one.
 
I went to Bristol Zoo yesterday with plans to visit again much closer to closing in September but now I'm not so sure I will bother as it really has a feel of being wound down now (as you might expect).

I thought I would post a little summary of what I saw to follow on from @AthleticBinturong 's detailed summary on page one for people who are still debating making a last visit.

If you are not a regular visitor to the zoo I think you would be shocked by just how bare it now feels, but being a semi-regular visitor I think the slow slide had passed me by some what.

I acknowledge that some of the below changes are not recent but provides a balanced overview I hope.

Closed / Empty /Gone
- pygmy hippo house
- Otter enclosure
- zona brazil
- nocturnal house and rat room etc
- warty pigs (empty on all 3 circuits and no signs of life, food or faeces though signage remains)
- No eider ducks seen on 2 circuits and it felt like a lot less terns than usual.
- no animals except one ring tail lemur seen in the unsigned cages near the centre of the zoo where ambassador animals were normally.
- Indoor aviary and walkthrough lorikeet enclosure closed (no sign but perhaps due to Avian Flu? very quiet and no signs of life so not optimistic.
- Asian Turtle breeding display

Dwindling/Downgraded/repurposed
- 3 or 4 tanks in the aquarium (large tanks and tunnel remain stocked)
- many aviaries which were formally mixed now single species (e.g. 3 aviaries for hoopoe) or empty.
- Drill enclosure now home to two sloth which are expectedly sedentary
- several enclosures duplicated in bug house
- Monkey enclosures felt very flat and no signs for or sight of armadillo that cohabited these enclosures on all 3 circuits.
- Tree Kangaroo - single specimen only seen on 2 visits.
- Mara only in former/shared pudu enclosure.
- Primate islands - at least one empty also no sign of squirrel monkeys on any pass but signed still.

Alive and Kicking
- Lions (a pair remain on site, hopefully to be sent to a more suitable deployment than Tehran like prior lion as recommended by EAZA)
- Gorillas (moving to wild place, at least I assume it will be this group moving there)
- Reptile house fully stocked (suspect much of the collection will go to wild place)
- Meerkats
- Red Panda
- Fruit Bats
- Butterfly tunnel
- Flamingo aviary
- Lemurs (again will likely relocate to existing wild place exhibit(s)
- seal and penguin coast (makes me miss living coasts)

I would not personally advocate a first time visit to Bristol Zoo on its current merits/collection but if visiting for nostalgia then its hard to say no to.

To end on some positives;
- the mouse deer are mixed with the sloths at the front of the zoo and one was very showy on every visit to the enclosure which made a nice change from seeing them in the dark of the nocturnal house.
- the gift shop has some good nostalgic items in the form of reproduced historic postcards and zoo guide covers.
- volunteers excellent, informed and engaging as ever.
- gardens remain immaculate and manicured.
 
As sad as it is that such an old zoo is closing, I do think the space is way too small for any new development.

Tho idk, maybe they could have made it work like Central Park
 
@Skukuza do you know what happened to the Asiatic Lion “Kamran” who was sent too Tehran. I know that they were trying to remove him from the neglect and abuse. I truly hope that he’s been rescued and is alive and well.
Has the building work for the new Gorilla Enclosure at Wild Place started yet? I would think Bristol Zoo would want them relocated ASAP. The Gorilla Family is a big draw for visitors. Technically the Gorillas could be on show again within a year. Too modify the former Wolf enclosure and build a Gorilla House should take about 6 months. The outdoor Enclosure is already built. This is half the job completed.
 
Does anyone have any recent photos of what the ex-wolf enclosure at WP currently looks like?
 
The Hedgehog said:
@Skukuza do you know what happened to the Asiatic Lion “Kamran” who was sent too Tehran. I know that they were trying to remove him from the neglect and abuse. I truly hope that he’s been rescued and is alive and well.
Has the building work for the new Gorilla Enclosure at Wild Place started yet? I would think Bristol Zoo would want them relocated ASAP. The Gorilla Family is a big draw for visitors. Technically the Gorillas could be on show again within a year. Too modify the former Wolf enclosure and build a Gorilla House should take about 6 months. The outdoor Enclosure is already built. This is half the job completed.
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Sorry, no I don't know Kamran's current status. Seems like public interest in him has diminished somewhat with no new news I can see since early 2021.

I have not personally seen building at Wild Place for gorillas and I believe they are planned to go on the site of the former wolf enclosure.
It would seem logical that the gorilla group going to Wild Place would be Jock and his family but I am not sure this has been confirmed.
I have said elsewhere (on Wild Place thread) that the development (or lack of) at Wild Place towards being the new Bristol Zoo is not at any great pace.

I've no experience of lead time on construction of a Gorilla enclosure but my gut feeling is that 6 months is "ambitious".
And as for the outdoor enclosure being "already built" I must disagree, the old wolf wood is a muddy woodland with lots of low brush and no climbing opportunity etc
Also from memory there are many unrestrained logs/fallen trees that I dont think they would want to equip gorillas with.
The boundary is also chain-link in places and nowhere near ready to receive gorillas.
So, in summary the space/location is there but the enclosure (indoor or out) is not.
 
Skukuza said:
Sorry, no I don't know Kamran's current status. Seems like public interest in him has diminished somewhat with no new news I can see since early 2021.

I have not personally seen building at Wild Place for gorillas and I believe they are planned to go on the site of the former wolf enclosure.
It would seem logical that the gorilla group going to Wild Place would be Jock and his family but I am not sure this has been confirmed.
I have said elsewhere (on Wild Place thread) that the development (or lack of) at Wild Place towards being the new Bristol Zoo is not at any great pace.

I've no experience of lead time on construction of a Gorilla enclosure but my gut feeling is that 6 months is "ambitious".
And as for the outdoor enclosure being "already built" I must disagree, the old wolf wood is a muddy woodland with lots of low brush and no climbing opportunity etc
Also from memory there are many unrestrained logs/fallen trees that I dont think they would want to equip gorillas with.
The boundary is also chain-link in places and nowhere near ready to receive gorillas.
So, in summary the space/location is there but the enclosure (indoor or out) is not.
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It will certainly be Jock and his group that move to Wild Place.

The old wolf wood area will need clearing, landscaping and an ape-proof barrier e.g. moat or other ape-proof barrier before its suitable for Apes. I suspect it will be moated, similar to the existing Bristol exhibit, in order to give a clear view. Its a major undertaking, as well as building suitable indoor quarters and sounds like it hasn't been started yet anyway.

I'm perplexed as to why they didn't include the Lions in their plans. Always a crowd pleaser and they already have them in their collection. Building something new for them would take less time than for say, the Gorillas, but they are definately not part of the plans and will be going elsewhere after the zoo closes.

It does seem that Wild Place will only morph into the new zoo at a comparatively slow pace.
 
Pertinax said:
It will certainly be Jock and his group that move to Wild Place.

The old wolf wood area will need clearing, landscaping and an ape-proof barrier e.g. moat or other ape-proof barrier before its suitable for Apes. I suspect it will be moated, similar to the existing Bristol exhibit, in order to give a clear view. Its a major undertaking, as well as building suitable indoor quarters and sounds like it hasn't been started yet anyway.

I'm perplexed as to why they didn't include the Lions in their plans. Always a crowd pleaser and they already have them in their collection. Building something new for them would take less time than for say, the Gorillas, but they are definately not part of the plans and will be going elsewhere after the zoo closes.

It does seem that Wild Place will only morph into the new zoo at a comparatively slow pace.
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It wouldn’t surprise me if the lions don’t end up at blackpool given there lion is now appearing to be setting up a new pride at whipsnade since his relocation and they are building new cat houses also the time line would also fit for the closing of Bristol
 
@J C Khari Blackpool’s remaining Lion is returning next year. The intention is that Khari will head a Pride at Whipsnade. Following this the Pride will move to Blackpool. Khari has merely moved to Whipsnade as their Lion Enclosure is vacant. As Whipsnade have a vast enclosure for a Pride Blackpool grasped the chance. Having the Pride formed at Blackpool would be the long winded approach. This is as individuals would have to be soured and introductions implemented. Whereas if the Prides formed at Whipsnade Blackpool can receive a ready formed pride.
 
@Pertinax are you sure that the Gorilla Enclosure at Wild Place will take over a year to construct? If you think about it the enclosure is already there. Yes it will need modifications. The drainage sewage and outdoor viewing area are already present fundamentally this is half of the job done. The reason I’m questioning you is a whole House from the ground up can be built in less than a year. All that’s required for the Gorilla Enclosureis an extensive refurbishment/remodelling,and the construction of an indoor house. The interior of the current Gorilla House was only installed a few years back. Theoretically the existing interior could be relocated to Wild Place.
 
The Hedgehog said:
@Pertinax are you sure that the Gorilla Enclosure at Wild Place will take over a year to construct? If you think about it the enclosure is already there. Yes it will need modifications. The drainage sewage and outdoor viewing area are already present fundamentally this is half of the job done. The reason I’m questioning you is a whole House from the ground up can be built in less than a year. All that’s required for the Gorilla Enclosureis an extensive refurbishment/remodelling,and the construction of an indoor house. The interior of the current Gorilla House was only installed a few years back. Theoretically the existing interior could be relocated to Wild Place.
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I recommend you take a step (or twelve) back and actually *think* about what you post before you do so; enthusiasm is all well and good, but it has its limits :p and I think one of them is reacting to people who know what they are talking about telling you something isn't possible by doubling-down on your incorrect claims, posting new incorrect claims (like stating all the plumbing for a gorilla house is already in place), and coming up with wild fantasies about the interior of the existing Bristol house being transported wholesale to the new site.
 
The Hedgehog said:
@J C Khari Blackpool’s remaining Lion is returning next year. The intention is that Khari will head a Pride at Whipsnade. Following this the Pride will move to Blackpool. Khari has merely moved to Whipsnade as their Lion Enclosure is vacant. As Whipsnade have a vast enclosure for a Pride Blackpool grasped the chance. Having the Pride formed at Blackpool would be the long winded approach. This is as individuals would have to be soured and introductions implemented. Whereas if the Prides formed at Whipsnade Blackpool can receive a ready formed pride.
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Which is all very well, but as you the whipsnade enclosure is vast and capable of holding a pride of many individuals, where as blackpools even after the mods is still small by any modern standards so I would feel it’s better suited to Asan lions like bristols who come as smaller groups in this case a pair and just let the lions at whipsnade stay and for the new pride they are also after
 
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