Wild Place Project to become Bristol Zoo Project

To mark the moment, hundreds of people took part in an exclusive photo on the site's Tower Meadow on Saturday (April 22) - shaping out the letters of the name, ‘Bristol Zoo Project’, which will officially be used from summer 2023.

The new name reflects the charity’s past and future. Bristol Zoological Society has run a zoo at Bristol Zoo Gardens for over 185 years. Now, following the closure of the Clifton site in 2022 and the move to Wild Place Project, the charity, with its visitors and supporters, is focusing on a new project saving wildlife together.

Image Credit - Matt Rolley 

Justin Morris, CEO of Bristol Zoological Society commented, “We are on a journey. Wild animals are under threat of extinction and we think zoos have an important role to play to address this ecological crisis, which is why we are investing in our 136-acre site. It won’t be quick. We are finalising the designs and construction is planned to start in 2024. Changing the name of our site marks the start of that journey.”

The new name was chosen after polling visitors, employees and volunteers and reflects the journey that Bristol Zoological Society is on, investing in the site which will be home to some of the world’s most threatened species.

Construction work on Bristol Zoo Project is planned to start in 2024, with the zoo growing and evolving over a number of years. At almost 10 times the size of Bristol Zoo Gardens, it will include new visitor facilities, exciting play areas and new animal homes for new species, including Critically Endangered black rhinos, red-necked ostriches, and Endangered red pandas and mangabey monkeys. 

A large conservation campus for students will be developed at the heart of Bristol Zoo Project. This will include conservation teaching, medicine and breeding facilities, so that visitors can engage more deeply with the conservation work of Bristol Zoological Society and together help save wildlife.

Some of the much-loved animal residents from Bristol Zoo Gardens, such as the Critically Endangered troop of Western lowland gorillas and blue-eyed black lemurs will also be coming over to the site in the next couple of years, when construction on their new homes is complete. 

Brian Zimmerman, Director of Conservation for Bristol Zoological Society added “Bristol Zoo Gardens in Clifton closed in September last year, to allow us to create a new Bristol Zoo at Wild Place Project. At what will soon be known as Bristol Zoo Project, 80 percent of species will be linked to our conservation work around the world, living in spaces that more closely reflect their natural habitats.”