Bristol Zoo Gardens and Wild Place Project are perfect for half-term

Bristol Zoological Society’s two sites – Bristol Zoo Gardens and Wild Place Project – are perfect fresh-air destinations for this coming half-term (May 29-June 6)

Both offer acres of outdoor space and the chance to get close to animals from all over the globe, including many endangered species.

Wild Place Project was recently named Bristol, Bath & Somerset Tourism Awards’ ‘Visitor Attraction of the Year’, and last year Bristol Zoo Gardens was a winner of Visit England’s ‘Best Told Story’.

Visitors to Bristol Zoo can see the youngest gorilla, Juni, who was born in December. He lives on Gorilla Island with his mum, Touni, and dad, Jock, together with the rest of the troop of western lowland gorillas.

And just beside the exit and gift shop is the first sloth to be born at the Zoo in almost a decade. The news that the tiny sloth had been born generated thousands of comments from people on social media.

As spring starts turning to summer, the flowers, trees and shrubs throughout Bristol Zoo are in bloom making a spectacular show of colour. At Wild Place the trees are back in leaf, with many wildflower species in the woodland and meadow.

Visitors to Wild Place, which is set in 136 acres of countryside, can see the four European brown bears, Gemini, Albie, Neo and Nilas. 

They are out and about in their huge woodland home, and can often be seen playing in their pool in the award-winning Bear Wood, which they share with four grey wolves -- the only zoo in the United Kingdom in which these two species live together.

They were all once native to Britain, as were the lynx and wolverine who live in neighbouring enclosures beneath Bear Wood’s towering trees.

Wild Place allows people to visit a range of different countries in a single visit. A short walk from Bear Wood is the Benoue National Park exhibit where giraffes, eland, red river hogs and zebra roam just as they would in Cameroon.

And nearby is the Madagascar enclosure with authentic native village stalls and a walk through where different species of lemurs including the iconic ring-tailed lemurs run and leap.

There are numerous paths that wind through the woods at Wild Place, leading to Tower Meadow surrounded by ancient trees and overseen by a clock tower built of local stone, an ideal place for a picnic.

James Kitto, Head of Commercial Operations at both Bristol Zoo and Wild Place, said: “There is nothing better than a day spent in the fresh air seeing animals from all over the world, including many which are endangered.

“Both Bristol Zoo and Wild Place are places where memories of special days out are made and always remembered. You can also find out about our conservation work across four continents.”

Bristol Zoo and Wild Place have one-way systems, social distancing measures and additional hand washing facilities to keep everyone safe. 

Before people visit they have to book tickets online for specific time slots. For Bristol Zoo go to bristolzoo.org.uk and for Wild Place wildplace.org.uk.

Wild Place Project and Bristol Zoo Gardens are run by Bristol Zoological Society, a conservation and education charity which relies on the generous support of the public not only to fund its important work at both zoos, but also its vital education and community outreach programme.

In March last year the Society launched the BZS Appeal to ensure the future of its work ‘saving wildlife together’ following the temporary closure of both its sites in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

As school groups can now be welcomed back at both zoos, donations from the appeal fund will support the Education Bursary Fund to ensure schools and youth groups in disadvantaged areas are able to benefit from visiting Bristol Zoo Gardens and Wild Place Project.

To find out more, or to make a donation, visit https://bristolzoo.org.uk/bzsappeal