THE oldest resident at Bristol Zoo has celebrated his 40th birthday.
Jock, the silverback Western lowland gorilla, celebrated four decades on Wednesday, May 31.
Jock, who was born in 1983, moved to Bristol from London Zoo in 2003 and has fathered eight young in his lifetime.
He currently lives alongside his troop of eight other gorillas at the now-closed Bristol Zoo Gardens site.
The group will move eight miles up the road to Wild Place Project in the coming years, following the first phase of construction of the new zoo, which is expected to start in 2024.
This first phase will include a new central African forest area where Jock and the gorilla troop will live with a new group of Endangered cherry-crowned mangabey monkeys in an immersive woodland exhibit.
Will Walker, curator of mammals at Bristol Zoological Society, said: “It’s great to be celebrating such a landmark birthday at Bristol Zoological Society.
“Jock is our oldest animal resident and his 40th birthday is a huge achievement for us as we’ve been caring for the species for almost a century.
“Numbers of the gorillas in the wild are thought to have declined by around 60 percent due to hunting and disease.
“Bristol Zoological Society has a dedicated team of conservationists that work in Cameroon to engage local communities to safeguard the species in the wild.”
To mark his birthday a mural that features Bristol Zoological Society’s conservation work in Equatorial Guinea, which includes protecting Critically Endangered western lowland gorillas like Jock, has been created by street artist Aspire.
The mural, which is titled Field Notes is on display at Wild Place Project, as part of Springfest - a street art exhibition in partnership with festival, Upfest.
Bristol Zoo Gardens officially closed to the public on September 3, 2022, after 186 years.
The centre first opened in 1836 and was the fifth oldest zoo in the old and the oldest provincial zoo.
For more information see - https://tinyurl.com/yckmhdc4
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