Footage has emerged of a troop of gorillas still living inside the long-abandoned Bristol Zoo – three years after it shut its gates to the public.
The video shows the apes pressing against the glass of their enclosure, as the visitor claims they were able to ‘just walk straight in’ with no sign of staff or security on site.
In the clip, one gorilla can be seen tapping on the window as the camera pans across overgrown paths, empty habitats and deserted visitor buildings.
The individual who filmed the footage said they uploaded it online to ‘find the animals and spread awareness’, adding they had spent ‘several hours’ inside the closed zoo.
They said: ‘Bristol zoo: what are you hiding? What is it you don’t want everyone to know? These gorillas should never be in here.’
The explorer, who returned to the site days later, said there were no barriers or guards, insisting: ‘There was no security. We spent an hour and a half in there and even came back two days later.
‘If anyone is trying to say we broke in or climbed over, it’s not true. We simply went to the staff doors, pushed them open and walked straight through.’
They added: ‘I, like many others, didn’t understand what was going on. Bristol zoo aren’t very transparent at all. It’s in the public interest to be transparent — that’s why there is so much public attention — no one could care if they were honest.’
The explorer went on to claim they could have ‘opened the enclosure’ if they had wanted to.
The video shows the apes pressing against the glass of their enclosure, as the visitor claims they were able to ‘just walk straight in’ with no sign of staff or security on site
In the clip, one gorilla can be seen tapping on the window as the camera pans across overgrown paths, empty habitats and deserted visitor buildings
The individual who filmed the footage said they uploaded it online to ‘find the animals and spread awareness’, adding they had spent ‘several hours’ inside the closed zoo
The zoo has confirmed that the troop is due to move ‘in a few months’ to their new African Forest habitat in the new Bristol Zoo Project, which is awaiting completion.
The zoo has previously been criticised by a charity for continuing to house the western lowland gorillas in captivity while the new enclosure at a different site in the city remains unfinished.
The zoo said it had ‘stepped up security’ due to a number of break ins since the closure – that it claimed had put both the safety of the gorillas and ‘intruders’ at risk.
Their new site, formerly known as Wild Place Project, will be four and a half times the size of their current home.
Bristol Zoo said it did not want to comment on the latest video.
But speaking previously, Brian Zimmerman, director of conservation and science at Bristol Zoological Society, said: ‘Since July 2024 our former Bristol Zoo Gardens site has been targeted by trespassers. This has resulted in videos and misinformation being spread on social media. We take these incidents extremely seriously and the care and welfare of our animals is always our top priority.
‘Our heightened security has ensured recent trespassers haven’t been able to get near the gorillas, but each time it happens, and alarms are set off, it causes the troop distress.
‘It is frustrating for us to see these videos. The trespassers who broke into our site, put animals at risk and have no knowledge of animal care and welfare.’
Aerial view of the Gorilla enclosure at Bristol Zoo, October 16, 2025, which is overgrown and deserted since closing its doors in 2022
The zoo said it had ‘stepped up security’ due to a number of break ins since the closure – that it claimed had put both the safety of the gorillas and ‘intruders’ at risk
Footage capturing gorillas still in their enclosure at Bristol Zoo which is overgrown and deserted since closing its doors in 2022
The zoo also said that although the gorillas are not in their new home yet, their existing enclosure still had access to a large outside area and multiple indoor spaces with a carefully regulated temperature.
The zoo had previously been criticised by wildlife charity Born Free and in a report stated: ‘Great apes also pose a serious safety risk when they are kept in unnaturally close proximity to humans in zoos.
‘Despite closing its doors in September 2022, the former Bristol Zoo site in the UK has continued to house western lowland gorillas while work on their enclosure at the new Bristol Zoo Project awaits completion.
‘Since the old site’s closure, there have been a series of public break-ins, putting the health and safety of both the intruders and the gorillas at risk. The repeated disturbances and loud alarms have reportedly had ‘really distressing’ impacts in the gorillas.’
