Four European brown bears, five European grey wolves, two Eurasian lynx and two wolverines are taking up residence in Bear Wood just north of Bristol, near Junction 17 of the M5.
The 7.5 acre exhibit, part of the Society’s Wild Place Project, will open to visitors on 25 July offering the opportunity to travel back in time to an age when these creatures were native to the UK.
Multi-million pound project
Dr Justin Morris, chief executive of Bristol Zoological Society: “Bear Wood tells the story of the UK’s ancient woodland and the charismatic species that once inhabited it – now brought back in one spectacular immersive experience.
“We hope Bear Wood will also inspire visitors about the woodland and wildlife we have left, encouraging them to protect what remains.”
The facility features an immersive bear viewing den with 180-degree, floor-to-ceiling glass and a raised wooden walkway which will give visitors an aerial view of the exhibit from up to four metres above the ground.
‘Immersive experience’
“Not only is this the most significant new addition to Wild Place Project that we have created to date but we are confident that this will be the best and most immersive bear exhibit in the country”, added Dr Morris.
The brown bears moved into the woodland just over three weeks ago and the wolves arrive today (Wed), although initially all the different species will be kept separate.
“The ancient woodland has been virtually untouched in building this enclosure and the bears seemed to take to it straight away”, said a Zoological Society spokesman.
Ancient woodland
Bears are thought to have become extinct in the UK in the early Medieval period, around 1,500 years ago.
Wolves continued to roam the woodlands of England and Wales until the turn of the 16th Century and could be found wild in Scotland for up to 200 years after that time.
Although the creatures in Bear Wood will roam free within the site, there are no initial plans for a breeding programme.
Roam free
Bear Wood evolved from an idea almost 20 years ago to create the Wild Place Project, which opened in 2013 featuring eco-systems from around the world, including Madagascar, Cameroon and the Congo.
The wood is the latest stage of the project, part funded by European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and sponsored by Bristol-based compnay Natracare.
A team of rangers will be on hand to point out native species at home in the woodland throughout the year. Den cameras and monitors will offer secret insights into the wildlife living in the exhibit.
Den cameras
And a giant woodland calendar will show the seasonal habits of different animals, and plants, highlighting the changing woodland throughout the year.
We hope Bear Wood will also inspire visitors about the woodland and wildlife we have left, encouraging them to protect what remains.
Dr Justin Morris
“Ancient woodland is one of the richest habitats for wildlife in the UK, providing a home for hundreds of species of animals and plants,” said Dr Christoph Schwitzer, chief zoological officer at Bristol Zoological Society, “In order to protect what remains, we need to inspire the next generation about the importance of this unique habitat.
“We believe that the best way to do this is to immerse people in these woods and show them the amazing diversity that is at stake.”
The brown bear was a common top predator alongside the wolf and lynx following the last ice age, after lions and hyenas had disappeared. It is calculated there were over 13,000 bears in Britain 7,000 years ago.
Way back in the dim and distant past we did, however just about all have been made extinct. The last bear in England was killed in the 1240s, in Scotland in the 1430s. Wolves were reintroduced to Scotland in the 1990s, but were not doing particularly well and have to be culled, because there are - too many males-…
The brown bear, also known as the European brown bear, was present in Scotland until around the 10th century, but hunting and habitat loss led to its extinction. The last known Scottish brown bear was killed in the 9th century, and the species was officially declared extinct in Scotland in the 10th century.
The UK has yet to reintroduce predators like wolves and bears, but the idea of reintroducing wolves to Scotland has long been discussed. It's been put forward as a way of controlling deer numbers which are responsible for munching and destroying young trees.
Bears are thought to have become extinct in the UK in the early Medieval period, around 1,500 years ago. Wolves continued to roam the woodlands of England and Wales until the turn of the 16th Century and could be found wild in Scotland for up to 200 years after that time.
We used to have lynx, wolves and brown bears. Obviously, the British mainland is an Island, so once they were gone there was no way for them to be replaced. There has been suggestions of reintroducing predators to control the deer population. We do still have predators, including foxes, stoats, weasels and badgers.
Not far from the village of Killiecrankie in the Scottish Highlands, there is a densely wooded gorge through which the River Garry rushes. According to folklore, it is here (or somewhere very like it) that Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel shot the last wild-living wolf in Great Britain in 1680.
There are no bears in Africa. The Atlas bear that used to be in the areas of Morocco and Libya became extinct around the 1870s. All the other bears are in North America, Europe, Asia and South America. While their habit can generally seem widespread, each of the major areas has its own subspecies.
The Scottish Wildcat is Britain's only wild feline and only remaining large predator. Scottish Wildcats are classified as Critically Endangered and it is estimated that there are between 100 and 300 in the wild, concentrated in very remote locations.
Although we lost the wolf, bear, elk and lynx to hunting long ago, Scotland still has a wealth of land mammals. Today, our majestic red deer is our largest wild land mammal and is widely distributed throughout Scotland. Our other native deer, the striking and delicate roe, is found across mainland Scotland.
Wolves are not coming back to the wild in Britain in the foreseeable future, because society is not ready. Wolves suffer from a long history of demonisation and myth-making.
Large mammals are not particularly numerous in Great Britain. Many of the large mammal species, such as the grey wolf and the brown bear, were hunted to extinction many centuries ago.
Mentions of wolves continue for a number of years after 1212 but in 1281, Edward I (reigned 1272-1307) ordered the extermination of all wolves in England.
CAVE LIONS lived in England and Wales during the Pleistocene era. They disappeared about 40,000 years ago. There were still cave lions in Thrace and Macedonia until the time of the ancient Greeks.
Wild boar survived in England until at least 1300, but had been hunted to extinction by the 17th century. They are still common throughout continental Europe, particularly where extensive forests exist.
From inter-glacial times (roughly 50,000 years ago), before the complete formation of the seas that now separate Scotland and the rest of Britain from the European continent, until the beginning or even the middle of the 18th century, wolves were part of the natural wild fauna of what is now called Scotland.
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