News on the Central African Forest habitat

In June we shared a major milestone on our journey to create a new conservation zoo when work began on the new Central African Forest habitat. It was an exciting moment.

Shortly after preparation commenced, we discovered swallows and wrens nesting in an existing structure, the old Okapi Stable, which was due to be taken down as part of the exciting transformation.

Nesting birds are protected, so the demolition of the stable was delayed until the birds had fledged in late summer. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a delay to the project, affecting the overall completion timeline.

As a result, construction of the new Crocodile and Parrot House, which makes up part of the Central African Forest, has been delayed. After careful consideration, we now plan to open the completed Central African Forest habitat to the public in spring 2026, a date that will give us more time for both the animals to acclimatise to their new homes and the landscape to establish and mature.

While the full habitat will open to visitors in spring 2026, the gorilla home will be completed ahead of this, so that we can move the animals from the old Bristol Zoo Gardens and vacate the Clifton site as planned in 2025.

As a wildlife conservation charity, the protection of all species is integral to our mission and Bristol Zoo Project is home to more than just the animals we care for as a conservation zoo.

Our site is rich in biodiversity and provides numerous habitats for animals, carefully monitored by our native species team. It was wonderful to see two beautiful species of bird begin to raise a family here.

Central African Forest here at Bristol Zoo Project will be home to some of the world’s most threatened species, including our troop of Critically Endangered western lowland gorillas, a new group of Endangered cherry-crowned mangabey monkeys, Critically Endangered slender-snouted crocodiles, Endangered African grey parrots and several extremely threatened species of West African freshwater fish.

In addition, a state-of-the-art Central African-themed learning space is being created as part of this transformation thanks to a one-million-pound grant from Biffa Award and the Fraxinus Charitable Trust. The Gorilla Learning Space will be incorporated into the gorilla house and become the most physically immersive learning space at Bristol Zoo Project. It will provide school children, community groups and visitors of all ages the chance to learn alongside the gorilla troop and other threatened species living within Central African Forest.

Bristol Zoo Project will continue to remain open during the development and provides the opportunity to discover wildlife linked to our conservation projects around the world, offering a wide range of learning experiences for our visitors to enjoy.