Overview
- The viral video by an urban explorer showed a gorilla tapping on glass at the closed Bristol Zoo site, triggering tabloid claims the apes were the 'world’s loneliest.'
- Bristol Zoological Society’s Sarah Gedman says the eight western lowland gorillas are closely monitored and relaxed, noting that gorilla facial cues differ from humans’.
- The zoo says the group remains at the former Clifton site while a new African Forest habitat at the Bristol Zoo Project is completed, with public viewing expected next spring.
- Following multiple trespasses, the zoo reports it has stepped up security and now locks the troop into their house at night to reduce risks to animals and intruders.
- Conservation charity Born Free cautions that intruders endanger staff and animals, welcomes care assurances, and urges faster completion of the new facility.