‘Best bear exhibit in the country’ opens near Bristol

‘Best bear exhibit in the country’ opens near Bristol

The UK’s largest and most ambitious brown bear exhibit is set to open at a South Gloucestershire attraction this summer.

Called Bear Wood, the new multi-million pound woodland exhibit at Wild Place Project will also be home to wolves, lynx and wolverine. The attraction, set to open in late July, will be the only place in the UK where bears and wolves will coexist in ancient woodland as they would have done thousands of years ago.

Visitors to Bear Wood will enter the woodland exhibit through a ‘time chamber’, which will ‘transport’ them back in time to see these magnificent creatures as they would have lived in times gone by.

A raised wooden walkway will take visitors on a journey through the trees at heights of up to four metres, offering a unique view of the animals in a truly immersive environment. An impressive bear viewing den, with 180-degree, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, will give visitors the sensation of standing inside the bear’s woodland home, inches away from these magnificent animals.

Dr Justin Morris, chief executive of Bristol Zoological Society, which operates Wild Place Project, said: “Bear Wood tells the story of the ancient native species that have been lost to the UK countryside over time, now brought back in one spectacular immersive experience. It aims to inspire visitors about the woodland and wildlife we have left, encouraging them to protect what remains.”

He added: “Not only is this exhibit the most significant element of Wild Place Project that we have created to date, but it is also a first for Britain in terms of having bears and wolves living side by side as they once did. We are confident that this will be the best and most immersive bear exhibit in the country and we are delighted to be preparing to share it with our first visitors this summer.”

A team of rangers will help visitors get the most from their visit to Bear Wood, pointing out the native species at home in the woodland throughout the year. Telescopes, den cameras and monitors will also offer secret insights into the wildlife living in the exhibit.

Children of all ages can enjoy three natural play areas, including a giant bird’s nest and den-building. A multi-use classroom is available for educational visits, events, private hire and corporate events. A giant woodland calendar will show the seasonal habits and variations of different animals, and plants, highlighting the changing dynamic of the woodland throughout the year.

Woodlands, similar to those at Wild Place Project, covered Britain thousands of years ago but have been steadily cut down for building, housing, fuel, growing crops and making paper. Today such woods cover only two per cent of the country.

“British ancient woodland is the richest habitat for wildlife in the UK, providing a home for hundreds of species of animals and plants,” explains Dr Christoph Schwitzer, director of conservation at Bristol Zoological Society. “In order to conserve what remains, we need to futureproof its existence, inspiring the next generation with the importance of this unique habitat.”

Wild Place Project is a fun, family attraction that provides outdoor adventure, play and learning with an emphasis on protecting threatened habitats on our doorsteps and around the globe.

Located just off junction 17 of the M5, Wild Place Project invites visitors to take a glimpse into eco-systems from around the world, including Madagascar, Cameroon, the Congo, and British ancient woodlands. It offers the chance to see animals including giraffe, cheetahs, wolves, zebra, gelada baboons, meerkats, lemurs, okapi, red-river hogs and eland.

Wild Place Project was opened by the Bristol Zoological Society, which also operates Bristol Zoo Gardens, in summer 2013. To find out more about Wild Place Project and Bear Wood visit www.wildplace.org.uk/bearwood.

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Peter Dickinson Independent International Zoo Consultant +66 (0) 93 0835 862 | elvinhow@gmail.com https://iizc.org/ | Skype: peter.dickinson48

New conservation project for threatened giraffe

New conservation project for threatened giraffe

Conservationists are about to launch a new effort to save one of the few remaining populations of Central African giraffe left in the wild.

Experts from Bristol Zoological Society are travelling to Cameroon this month to begin a critical research effort to map the location of some of the remaining Central African or Kordofan giraffe using drone technology.

They will focus their efforts on the Bénoué National Park in Cameroon – a UNESCO designated biosphere reserve. There is no active conservation project aimed solely for Kordofan giraffe in Cameroon at present. Conservationists hope to establish whether there is a sustainable population of this highly threatened giraffe subspecies that they can work to conserve and help save from extinction.

Wild giraffe numbers have dwindled from 140,000 to potentially 80,000 in just 15 years. There are fewer giraffe left in the wild than African elephants, with giraffe numbers being around a fifth of those of African elephants. Population numbers of Kordofan giraffe are critically low, estimated at fewer than 2,000, in several fragmented populations throughout their range.

Bristol Zoological Society’s head of conservation science, Dr Grainne McCabe, said: “Kordofan giraffe are in very serious trouble in the wild. With threats from habitat loss - due to huge herds of cattle present in the area - and poaching for bushmeat, these iconic animals are disappearing quickly and quietly towards extinction. If nothing is done to protect them, there is a real chance they will be lost forever.”

She added: “This summer’s pilot study will help inform our future conservation work to ensure we are targeting our efforts in the right areas. Very little is currently known about the range and population of giraffe in Cameroon so our initial results from this trip, as well as future trips next year, will be vital in planning a way forward to help protect giraffe in this area.”

Kordofan giraffe are a threatened sub-species found in northern Cameroon, southern Chad, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. The Zoo will focus its efforts on the Bénoué National Park in Cameroon – a UNESCO designated biosphere reserve. There is no active conservation project aimed solely for Kordofan giraffe in Cameroon at present.

The Zoo has worked in Cameroon for 20 years, alongside Ape Action Africa, an organisation that rescues and rehabilitates gorillas, chimps and other primates orphaned by poachers hunting for the illegal bushmeat trade. The Society also works to tackle the root cause of the gorilla trade by working with disadvantaged communities around the Dja Biosphere Reserve – which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There are currently nine recognised subspecies of giraffe in Africa. All subspecies live in geographically distinct areas across the continent.

Bristol Zoological Society will link the giraffe conservation project to a new giraffe exhibit planned for its sister attraction in South Gloucestershire – Wild Place Project.

Bristol Zoological Society is a conservation and education charity and relies on the generous support of the public not only to fund its important work in the Zoo and at Wild Place Project, but also its vital conservation and research projects spanning five continents. The Society would like to thank Maplin the electronic specialists for its generous donation of the drone for this project.

For more information about the Society’s conservation projects, visit the website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk/save-wildlife.

Peter Dickinson Independent International Zoo Consultant +971 50 4787 122 | elvinhow@gmail.com | Skype: peter.dickinson48

New conservation project for threatened giraffe

http://www.giraffespotter.org/Learn/Kordan 

New conservation project for threatened giraffe

Conservationists are launching a new effort to save one of the few remaining populations of Central African giraffe left in the wild.

Experts from Bristol Zoological Society are travelling to Cameroon this summer to begin a critical research effort to map the location of some of the remaining Central African or Kordofan giraffe using drone technology.

They hope to establish whether there is a sustainable population of this highly threatened giraffe subspecies that they can work to conserve and  help save them from extinction.

Wild giraffe numbers have dwindled from 140,000 to potentially 80,000 in just 15 years. There are now fewer giraffe left in the wild than African elephants, with giraffe numbers being around a fifth of those of African elephants. Population numbers of Kordofan giraffe are critically low, estimated at fewer than 2,000, in several fragmented populations throughout their range.

Bristol Zoological Society’s head of conservation science, Dr Grainne McCabe, said: “Kordofan giraffe are in very serious trouble in the wild. With threats from habitat loss due to huge herds of cattle present in the area and poaching for bushmeat, these iconic animals are disappearing quickly and quietly towards extinction. If nothing is done to protect them, there is a real chance they will be lost forever.”

She added: “This summer’s pilot study will help inform our future conservation work to ensure we are targeting our efforts in the right areas. Very little is currently known about the range and population of giraffe in Cameroon so our initial results from this trip, as well as future trips next year, will be vital in planning a way forward to help protect giraffe in this area.”

Kordofan giraffe are a threatened sub-species found in northern Cameroon, southern Chad, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and western Sudan. The Zoo will focus its efforts on the Bénoué National Park in Cameroon – a UNESCO designated biosphere reserve. There is no active conservation project aimed solely for Kordofan giraffe in Cameroon at present.

The Zoo has worked in the region for 20 years, alongside an organisation that rescues and rehabilitates gorillas, chimps and other primates orphaned by poachers hunting for the illegal bushmeat trade. The Society also works to tackle the root cause of the gorilla trade by working with disadvantaged communities around the Dja Biosphere Reserve – which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There are currently nine recognised subspecies of giraffe in Africa. All subspecies live in geographically distinct areas across the continent.

Bristol Zoological Society will link the giraffe conservation project to a new giraffe exhibit planned next year at its sister attraction in South Gloucestershire – Wild Place Project.

Bristol Zoological Society is a conservation and education charity and relies on the generous support of the public not only to fund its important work in the Zoo and at Wild Place Project, but also its vital conservation and research projects spanning five continents. For more information about the Society’s conservation projects, visit the website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk/save-wildlife.

Peter Dickinson Independent International Zoo Consultant +971 50 4787 122 | elvinhow@gmail.com | Skype: peter.dickinson48

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