ANNUAL REVIEW for the year ended 31st December 2011 Bristol, Clifton and West of England Zoological Society Ltd Field conservation projects 2011 Contents Avon Gorge & Downs White-clawed crayfish, Native invertebrates, Livingstone’s fruit bats, Père David’s deer, Wildlife Project, Bristol south west England Bristol Union of the Comoros China 2 Chair of Trustees’ foreword 3 Director’s report 4 Highlights of the year 6 Celebrating 175 years of Bristol Zoo 9 Highlights of the year - Wow! Gorillas 10 Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation 13 Animal management 16 Integrated learning 18 Veterinary 19 Horticulture 20 The people who make the charity Broadway Infant School with Poppy 22 Our values 24 Fundraising and partnerships 26 National Wildlife Conservation Park 27 Summarised financial statements 32 Threatened and managed species 36 Staff affiliations 40 Shareholders 41 Staff publications 42 Staff list 44 Partners and community involvement 45 Trustees Clown fish Primates of the lowland Primates (Ape Action Okapi Conservation Amphibians of the Tortoises and forest, Colombia Africa), Cameroon Programme, Democratic Sahamalaza Peninsula, terrapins, Vietnam Republic of Congo Madagascar Bristol, Clifton and West of England Zoological Society Ltd Printed using vegetable-oil Registered Charity No. 1104986 based inks on recycled paper Registered in England No. 5154176 Partula snails, Lion tamarins, Dja Faunal Reserve, African penguins, Lemurs, Cover photographs by Bob French Polynesia Brazil Cameroon South Africa Madagascar Pitchford and Stephen Allinson Bristol Zoo Gardens, Clifton, Bristol BS8 3HA Info line: 0117 974 7399 Business line: 0117 974 7300 Fax: 0117 973 6814 To find out more about our conservation work 1 visit www.bcsf.org.uk Website: www.bristolzoo.org.uk Email: [email protected] Chair of Trustees’ foreword Director’s report It gives me great pleasure to introduce the 2011 Annual Review and to reflect on some of our Our 175th anniversary year has been everything we achievements during the year, which has seen so much happening. had hoped for and more. Wow, what a year! Our Outside Bristol, we have had another full Our celebrations choice for an amazing day out, to engage 175th year was marked by year of field work around the globe. One underlined the place that visitors with the natural world and to a number of fantastic and of the challenges we have set ourselves we have in the hearts of make a significant contribution to wildlife well-supported events, is to find ways of sharing this diversity Bristolians. The city joined conservation’. You can find out more in the such as Wow! Gorillas, of knowledge with the wider public, our in our Wow! Gorillas “Our Values” pages. which both helped put members, supporters and shareholders. public art project to the We gained some significant awards this Bristol on the map and the extent that it became The Zoo has had a good year in the face of year. Although we achieve awards regularly, Zoo into sharper focus. a phenomenon. An tough economic times, with strong visitor these really highlight that we are a very The sight of dozens of estimated 220,000 people numbers. Despite this, we must continue successful organisation, leading the field brightly-coloured gorilla went to see the gorillas, to look at the longer term, making sure in many different areas. Awards in 2011 sculptures on the streets and nearly 3,000 sent we refresh the offer to visitors and use our included Bristol in Bloom, several awards of Bristol and beyond photographs to the Bristol resources and expertise to the full. from the British and Irish Association of captured the attention of Evening Post. There was Zoos and Aquariums, and a Gold Award many people. One of the I would like to add a personal note of thanks genuine sadness when from the European Association of Zoos letters we received from a Bristol resident to my predecessor, Martin Davies Jones, the gorillas came in off the street but our and Aquaria (EAZA) for raising €10,000 for said the gorilla trail had taken them to parts who gave so many years as a trustee and auction raised a huge sum for our gorilla the EAZA Ape Conservation Campaign. I of the city of her birth that her family had who guided us expertly as Chair of Trustees conservation work; for Wallace and Gromit’s chaired the steering group of this campaign never seen. for the last six years. Thanks also go to the Grand Appeal, the Bristol Royal Hospital for and through it, we have raised over €500,000 Board of Trustees for the many hours and Children; and for BBC Children in Need. As well as thousands of members of the for ape conservation. Not only is Bristol the experience that they give to the Society, public, Wow! Gorillas was supported by While Wow! Gorillas was our highest Zoo a contributor to the fund, we are also a most of which goes unseen. many sponsors and we hope that, from profile activity in 2011, we had many other recipient as we still receive support for our this, we will build stronger bridges with the special events including WOMAD at the gorilla conservation work in Cameroon. wider business community. The auction Richard Clarke Zoo, a chilli and chocolate festival and the And speaking of gorillas, we were very pleased of the gorilla sculptures was one of the launch of the Bristol Walk of Fame. We also Chairman of Trustees to welcome a new arrival to the group this most memorable nights of the year, raising welcomed a special guest in October when year, Kukeña, another son for Salome. over £427,000. HRH The Earl of Wessex visited to mark the Zoo’s anniversary. Lastly, looking ahead to 2012, we have In the autumn we were honoured with a a number of exciting projects including visit from HRH The Earl of Wessex. This We undertook a strategic review and major work to enlarge and enhance the visit, and all the other events that have formulated a new vision for the Society – gorilla house and a spectacular animatronic taken place in the Zoo this year, required a ‘Creating a sustainable future for wildlife dinosaur exhibition. huge amount of work from our dedicated and people’. This encapsulates the work staff and volunteers. In the run up to we do, not only through the conservation We expect 2012 to be a challenging year but Christmas we had the kind support of The and wildlife research work carried out we are well placed to weather the storm and Mall at Cribbs Causeway, with the use of a by our Bristol Conservation and Science look forward to another good year in difficult shop unit. This was a great way to get our Foundation, but also the work of the Zoo, economic times. message to a different audience. I would informing, exciting and engaging people in like to thank all the staff and volunteers, our increasingly threatened natural world. Dr Bryan Carroll under the leadership of Dr Bryan Carroll and We have also refined our Mission the senior management team, for a very Director, Bristol, Clifton and West of England statement for the Zoo – ‘to be the first successful year. Zoological Society Ltd 2 3 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR September saw the arrival of a baby western A state of the art, all-weather enclosure, called Famous faces from across the city gathered Critically endangered Utila spiny-tailed iguanas Our project to breed native, white-clawed A Brazilian tapir calf named George was lowland gorilla, born to Salome and Jock. Meerkat Lookout, opened in February, home for the West Country themed launch party for successfully bred at Bristol Zoo for the first time crayfish continues to do well with over 190 born in February, joining parents Tamang The baby, Kukeña, is a great boost to the to our group of 12 meerkats. The Bristol Walk of Fame at Bristol Zoo. Guests this year. The species was once considered to juveniles hatched in 2011. and Denzil and big sister Tip Tap in the Zona captive breeding programme for this critically included Bill Bailey, Johnny Ball, The Wurzels be among the rarest iguanas in existence. Brazil exhibit. endangered species. and Gary Mabbutt. Sidone the baby sloth was born this year A male red panda, named Sir Edmund Hillary, Our twin Asiatic lion cubs, Jay and Kaly, A new piranha display in the Aquarium has Our programme to breed the world’s last The Zoo celebrated its 175th birthday in July but had to be hand reared after her mother, arrived from New Zealand in June as a new made their public debut in early 2011 meant we can increase our holding from group of French Polynesian tree snails, Partula with a party in the grounds attended by over Lightcap, was taken ill and needed veterinary mate for our lone female, Jasmina. and have continued to delight visitors four individuals to a shoal of 20 of these faba, has continued to succeed, with over 80 500 current and former staff and their families. treatment. Both Sidone and Lightcap continue throughout the year. spectacular fish. born this year. Without our efforts this species to do well. would be extinct. A special guest visited the Zoo in October to Staff from the learning department were Our tranquil Stream Garden opened opposite The Zoo won Best Education Project and Best Record numbers of rare silky wave moths, only An area of roof roughly the size of a tennis mark our celebratory year. HRH The Earl of presented with a special achievement Award the Herbaceous Border in spring, including Research Project in the annual British and Irish found in parts of the Avon Gorge and nowhere court has been covered in solar panels, Wessex enjoyed a tour of the Zoo and met staff, from the Forest Stewardship Council in a variety of features such as a pond, aviaries, Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) else in England, were reported following generating enough electricity to power the guests and volunteers at a private reception.