African Forest is the first habitat to be built as part of the new conservation zoo development at Bristol Zoo Project.

This will be the new home for Bristol’s much-loved troop of Critically Endangered western lowland gorillas; Jock, Touni, Kera, Kala, Afia, Ayana, and toddlers, Hasani and Juni.

African Forest will also become home to Endangered cherry-crowned mangabeys, Critically Endangered slender-snouted crocodiles, Endangered African grey parrots and several extremely threatened species of West African freshwater fish, which visitors will be able to see in a special underwater viewing area. There will also be a learning and education space for all to enjoy.

The African grey parrots in our African Forest habitat have been rescued from the illegal wildlife trade and are unable to return to the wild. Four chicks have recently hatched, contributing to international breeding programmes and ensuring their survival. In the future, we hope to work with our partners in Africa to reintroduce populations back into the wild.

100% of species in African Forest are threatened in the wild. We lead on international breeding and research programmes linked to these species. African Forest is directly linked to our work in Equatorial Guinea, where we work collaboratively with Monte Alen National Park communities and park staff on projects supported by Elephant Crisis Fund, Fraxinus Charitable Trust, GEF-7, and IUCN.

All the threatened species in African Forest are part of coordinated international breeding programmes, providing insurance populations to secure the future of their species, and we will collaborate with our partners to reintroduce species to the wild where possible.

Thanks to key supporters, work on the African Forest habitat is underway. But we need your help to raise £100,000 to support this phase of the development and further enable our teams to safeguard the future of these precious species in the wild.