News / Bristol Zoo Gardens
Plans to bring rare black rhinos to new Bristol Zoo
Bristol Zoo bosses have revealed plans to bring some of the rarest animals in the world to their new site.
The number of black rhinos dropped by a staggering 98 per cent between 1960 and 1995 and there are now thought to be as few as 3,142 left in the wild.
The animals have suffered from a loss of habitat and poachers, who kill them for their horns, and are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
is needed now More than ever
The aim to bring two black rhinos to Bristol Zoo’s new site is part of a European programme to maintain a population that will act as a safety net against them becoming extinct.
There are now thought to be as few as 3,142 black rhinos left in the wild
Brian Zimmerman, director of conservation at Bristol Zoological Society, said: “They will be living in a new exhibit with scrubby vegetation and mixed trees, resembling their habitat in Africa.
“What’s unique about the new Bristol Zoo is that visitors will discover animals in a natural setting, rather than creating a completely human-made environment for them.
“They are such iconic animals, but they are threatened and we want to play our part in protecting them.
“We have ambitious conservation plans for the future and we hope that the black rhino will be part of that work.”
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Bristol Zoo Gardens is due to close its historic Clifton site to the public on September 3 this year and intends to sell the grounds for redevelopment. A new Bristol Zoo at Wild Place Project near Cribbs Causeway is due to open in 2024.
Zoo bosses say some 78 per cent of the species at the new zoo will have links to conservation projects. Animals expected to be housed there include endangered African grey parrots and critically endangered slender-snouted crocodiles.
The gorilla troop who will already be familiar to zoo visitors will live there as well, along with a new group of endangered cherry-crowned mangabey monkeys, in a woodland exhibit.
Read more: Bristol Zoo announces closure date for historic Clifton site
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