UK: Bristol Zoo Closed after 186 Years – Relocation Scheduled for 2024
This giant interactive gorilla statue had been installed for the final opening weeks of the zoo.
© Bristol Zoo
After nearly two centuries of existence, Bristol Zoo (full name: Bristol Zoo Gardens) in Clifton closed its doors forever on 3 September 2022. In the last week before closing, more than 29,000 people came to visit the zoo for the last time – as many visitors as usually in one month. Since its inception in 1836, Bristol Zoo has welcomed more than 90 million visitors.
Brian Zimmerman, Bristol Zoological Society’s director of conservation and science, said: “This truly is an end of an era – an era full of wonderful memories for staff and visitors alike.” He added, “Bristol Zoo Gardens holds a special place in the hearts of many and has become an institution in the city of Bristol. While we recognise its importance and respect its legacy, the time has come for us to build a modern-day zoo with the right space for our animals that more closely reflects their natural habitats.”
The fact that the zoo in South Western England would close down was already announced in 2020. The planned relocation to a site about 20 minutes by car from Bristol city center due to economic difficulties is planned to take play by 2024. Plans call for a relocation on the site of the Wild Place Project nature reserve in South Gloucestershire, also operated by the Bristol Zoological Society. Conservation and education are to remain central to the zoological facility’s focus. (eap)
