Featured Image Credit: SWNS
Topics: UK News, News, Animals, Social Media
Lucy Devine
A zoo has spoken out after footage of gorillas 'banging on windows', three years after it closed, has gone viral online.
The Bristol Zoo Gardens in Clifton, UK, closed back in 2022, and animals were slowly moved to a different zoo, the Bristol Zoo Project.
However, the zoo said that its gorillas would remain at the closed site, while their new enclosure at Bristol Zoo Project was being completed.
Their new area is set to be over four times bigger and is based on the African forests of Equatorial Guinea.
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However, footage - which was shared on social media by 'urban explorers' and seen by some UK publications - has sparked concern among the public, with claims that the gorillas are 'lonely' and were seen 'banging on windows' in their enclosure.
According to The Sun, the trespasser said they had spent several hours at the zoo, adding: “I, like many others, didn’t understand what was going on. Bristol zoo aren’t very transparent at all.
“It’s in the public interest to be transparent… that’s why there is so much public attention – no one could care if they were honest.”
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The zoo has now issued a statement, with a spokesperson for the zoo explaining (via the BBC): "As well as their team of keepers, the gorillas see vets, other zoo staff, students, researchers and zoo supporters throughout each week.
"When they are moved over to their new African Forest home, we will be gradually introducing visitors to get them used to seeing the general public again."
Bristol Zoo added that intruder alarms, set off by members of the public trespassing in the zoo, have caused distress to the animals.
"Our heightened security has ensured trespassers haven't been able to get near to the gorillas, but each time someone breaks in, our alarm system is triggered, which distresses the gorilla troop," they added.
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"It often leads them to miss sleep, which disrupts their routine and leaves them groggy and lethargic. This is interrupting the training our team is providing to get them ready for their move to Bristol Zoo Project in a few months' time."
Bristol Zoo Project also said that the posts had led to 'misinformation' with 'untrue and inflammatory information about the gorillas'.
In a statement to UNILAD, they explained: “Our former Bristol Zoo Gardens site has been targeted by trespassers which has resulted in videos and false information being spread on social media. Unfortunately, the articles printed are very misleading and each time this content is shared, it encourages more break ins, causing distress to our gorillas. Our heightened security ensures trespassers can’t reach the gorillas, but each time it happens, and alarms are set off, it causes the troop distress.
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"It has been well publicised that the troop are still living in the Clifton site while work is completed on their new African Forest habitat at Bristol Zoo Project. The gorillas will be moving across to their new home in the next few months.
"In the meantime, our experienced keepers and dedicated welfare team continue to care for them, ensuring they have exactly the same routine as when the site was open to the public. You can see a film of them being cared for here, which shows their outside space and enrichment.
"The only reason social media influencers share this misleading content is to gain followers. We hope our supporters help to raise awareness of the harm these continued break-ins cause, and combat the misleading information that the site is empty.”
Meanwhile, Director of Bristol Zoo Project, Hannah Windross added to the BBC: "It's distressing I think particularly for the keepers because they spend so much time working with these animals, they love and care for these animals for years.
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"So to see people saying they're miserable and they're abandoned is just so hurtful when, as a wildlife and conservation charity, the protection of animals is what we exist to do."
However, Wildlife charity Born Free has criticised the zoo for keeping the gorillas at the old site for so long.
In a report, it said: “Despite closing its doors in September 2022, the former Bristol Zoo site in the UK has continued to house western lowland gorillas…while work on their enclosure at the new Bristol Zoo Project awaits completion.
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“Since the old site’s closure, there have been a series of public break-ins, putting health and safety of both the intruders and the gorillas at risk.
“The repeated disturbances and loud alarms have reportedly had ‘really distressing’ impacts on the gorillas.”
UNILAD has reached out to Bristol Zoo Project for comment.