A zoo has increased security following repeated break ins at the gorilla enclosure – after rumours speculated the animals are not being looked after.
Bristol Zoo Project has been dealing with multiple break ins at its old Bristol Zoo Gardens site in Clifton which have been reported to the police.
The zoo has said the break-ins have been caused over ‘false information circulating online’. Intruders gained access to the gorilla enclosure amid claims the animals were ‘abandoned’.
The charity have released a video on their Facebook page today (16 January) to raise awareness of the impact the disruption is having upon the animals – including the oldest silverback gorilla in the UK – and staff, as well as to “combat misinformation that the Bristol Zoo Gardens site is empty”.
In the video, keepers say the latest trespassers have not been able to get near the gorillas.
Imogen, one of the zoo keepers, said: “Although it is good news that our stepped up security has managed to keep the trespassers away from the gorillas, it does mean that every time somebody comes onto the zoo grounds, the alarms and sounders go off, which are quite loud – and that’s actually really distressing for the gorillas.”
The troop of eight gorillas have remained living at Bristol Zoo Gardens location since it closed to the public in September 2022.
They are due to move a new Central African Forest habitat at the Bristol Zoo Project site near Cribbs Causeway this summer, ahead of its opening to the public in 2026.
When the habitat opens in early 2026, the gorillas and mangabeys will be living in an area four and a half times the size of the gorilla troop’s current home at the former Bristol Zoo Gardens.
African Forest has been designed to evoke a sense of the dense forest and landscape of Equatorial Guinea, where the Society runs one of its largest conservation projects focused on gorillas and other threatened forest species.
Gareth, another zoo keeper, added the break ins, when described in “human terms”, are comparable to “someone snooping around a family home outside”.
He explained: “The residents of that house will be worried and scared.
“The gorillas feel those emotions as well – especially the young like Hasani and Juni, and the elderly like Jock.
“We’ve had issues immediately after the break ins the next day, doing basic husbandry routines because Jock in particular is so tired he just doesn’t want to move.”
Hannah Windross, Director of People and Public Engagement, Bristol Zoological Society, said their former Bristol Zoo Gardens site has been targeted by trespassers on several occasions since July 2024.
She explained: “This has resulted in videos and misinformation being spread on social media.
“Unfortunately, each time the videos are reshared we experience new break-ins at the site, where our Critically Endangered western lowland gorilla troop is being cared for by our expert keepers.
“Our heightened security has ensured recent trespassers haven’t been able to get near to the gorillas, but each time it happens, and alarms are set off in the middle of the night, it causes the troop distress.
“We take these incidents seriously. The care and welfare of our animals is always our top priority.
“Our experienced keepers and dedicated welfare team have continued to care for the gorillas since the closure of Bristol Zoo Gardens, just as they did when the site was open to the public.
“We hope our supporters will help us raise awareness of the harm these continued break-ins are causing to our animals and combat misleading information that the site is empty.
“It has been well publicised that the troop are still living in the Clifton site, and work is underway to create a new African Forest habitat at Bristol Zoo Project, which they will move into.
“There, they will be joined by many other of the world’s most threatened species.”