Critically endangered black rhinos to live at new Bristol Zoo
Wild Place is set to become the new zoo in 2024
The new Bristol Zoo will feature two of the world's rarest animals when it opens in 2024.
Bosses say plans are in place to bring two black rhino's to our city; it's thought there's barely more than 3,000 of them left in the wild.
They will be part of plans to increase the number of species at the new Bristol Zoo that are in need of conservation.
Brian Zimmerman is the Director of Conservation at Bristol Zoological Society.
“They will be living in a new exhibit with scrubby vegetation and mixed trees, resembling their habitat in Africa," he said.
“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."
The news comes one week after it was announced the zoo's historic Clifton site, which has existed for 186 years, will close in September.
It's sister site Wild Place Project will open as the new Bristol Zoo in two years time.
Between 1960 and 1995, black rhino numbers dropped by a staggering 98 percent.
The inclusion of black rhinos at the new Bristol Zoo is part of a European programme to maintain a population that will act as a safety net against them becoming extinct.
“We have ambitious conservation plans for the future and we hope that the black rhino will be part of that work," Mr Zimmerman said.
As well as the rhinos, the new Bristol Zoo will also feature endangered African grey parrots and critically endangered slender-snouted crocodiles, plus "extremely rare" species of West African fish which visitors will be able to see in a new underwater viewing area.
Several animals currently living at the zoo's Clifton site will also move across to the new zoo, including the troop of western lowland gorillas.