Bristol Zoo Primates Get The Opportunity To Have A Snowball Fight

By Lucy Parkinson

Bristol, UK - The current cold snap means keepers at Bristol Zoo Gardens are taking extra care to make sure their charges are kept warm and comfortable as temperatures drop.

A blanket of snow has transformed the 12-acre site into a picture-postcard scene over the past two days. While some animals, such as the red panda, are well equipped for the current conditions, special care is being taken to make sure other animals are kept warm.

Bristol Zoo’s critically endangered lion-tailed macaque monkeys happily played outside in the snow, making and eating snowballs! It was the first time any of the six inquisitive primates had ever seen snow.
 
Junji the red panda is also happy to stay outside in the snow. The species, which is endangered, is native to the mountainous regions of Nepal and Southwest China so they are well-equipped to deal with very cold weather. Their fur is long, thick and fuzzy to protect against rain and cold. They also have fur on the soles of their feet to help grip on wet branches and to keep them warm when walking on snow.
 
Meanwhile, the gorillas are keeping warm inside their heated house and are given extra bedding (straw and wood wool) and more food by their keepers. This is because animals burn more calories in the cold.
 
Dr Bryan Carroll, Deputy Director of Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: “Gorillas do have a thick covering of hair and will sometimes choose to stay outside even when the weather is a little chilly. But when the weather gets as cold as it is now, we keep them inside because the water moat surrounding their island freezes over and the gorillas might try to walk on the ice.”
 
The zoo's family of gorillas includes Jock, the adult male silverback, Salome and Romina the two adult females, and youngsters Namoki, Komale and Kera.
 
Dr Carroll added: “The gorilla house is kept warm with under-floor heating and the gorillas will often make nests using the wood wool. The young gorillas are cared for by their mothers who will make sure they are kept warm.”
 
Other mammals which have special heated indoor enclosures include the meerkats, the ring-tailed lemurs and red-ruffed lemurs, the two okapi and the squirrel monkeys. The small primates, such as the squirrel monkeys and the tamarins, are also given peanut butter in the winter months as a fatty treat.
 
Despite the cold spell, it’s business as usual at Bristol Zoo, which stays open every day, all year round, except on Christmas day.
 
For more information about Bristol Zoo Gardens, visit the website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk or phone 0117 974 7300.
 
About Bristol Zoo Gardens
*         Bristol Zoo Gardens is open from 9am every day except Christmas Day. 
*         The Zoo is an Education and Conservation Charity and relies on the income from visitors to support its work. 
*         The Zoo is involved with over one hundred co-ordinated breeding programmes for threatened wildlife species. 
*         It employs 140 full and part-time staff to care for the animals and run a successful visitor attraction to support its conservation and education work. 
*         Bristol Zoo Gardens supports – through finance and skill sharing - over 10 projects in the UK and abroad that conserve and protect some of the world’s most endangered species.
*         Bristol Zoo Gardens is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums. BIAZA represents more than 90 member collections and promotes the values of good zoos and aquariums.
 
Bristol, Clifton & West of England Zoological Society Ltd
Company registered in Endgand, reg no. 5154176
Registered office: Bristol Zoo Gardens, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 3HA
 
Photo caption: Holly the young macaque monkey makes a snowball in her enclosure at Bristol Zoo Gardens.
Photo credit: Bristol Zoo Gardens