Bristol Zoo pop-up shop opens at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway this week

Submitted by richard on Wed, 2011-11-09 17:55

Shoppers are in for a treat on Friday as Bristol Zoo opens a new, pop-up shop at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway.

Stilt walkers in animal costumes and the Zoo’s mascot, Larry the lemur, will be greeting visitors to the new shop between 11.30am and 12.30pm on Friday November 11 for a special celebratory ‘happy hour’ to mark the shop’s opening.

Visitors who make a purchase during the Zoo’s ‘happy hour (11.30am til 12.30pm on Friday) will receive a free admission ticket to Bristol Zoo for one child.

Unique gifts and animal experiences will be available to buy in the zoo shop which is located on the ground floor, near John Lewis and will be open every day (excluding Christmas day) until Saturday January 7, 2012.

Visitors will also be able to submit sealed bids to buy an unpainted Wow! Gorilla sculpture which will be on display inside the shop.

Sealed bid forms can be collected from the Zoo shop at The Mall and from the Zoo gift shop at Bristol Zoo from Friday (November 11). Forms can also be downloaded from the Zoo website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk/win-wow-gorilla from Friday. The deadline to submit a sealed bid is Thursday, January 5 2012.

The new shop will offer a variety of Christmas present ideas for animal lovers or the friend who is difficult to buy for - from Zoo tickets and membership, to animal adoptions, toys, teddies and unique animal experiences.

Gifts that allow you to get up-close to the animals include ‘keeper for the day’ and ‘junior keeper for the day’. The Zoo also offers unique ‘animal experience’ gifts that include getting hands-on with meerkats, seals, penguins or lemurs.

Animal adoptions also make a great present and you can choose from a selection of different animals to adopt, such as Babushka the meerkat, Poppy the penguin or Kukena the new baby gorilla.

Adoption gift packages cost £45 and include two zoo tickets, a cuddly toy, a certificate, the Zoo magazine, a fact file about your animal and your name displayed by the zoo’s animal exhibit.

By adopting an animal you will be making a valuable contribution towards the upkeep of the animals and supporting field conservation of threatened species in the wild.

For more information about unique animal gifts and experiences, or to buy zoo products, visit www.bristolzoo.org.uk/web-shop. Please order your Christmas gift early to ensure you receive it in time for Christmas.

Bristol Zoo also has a host of Christmas events this winter, for details of what’s on, visit the website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk/whats-on

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact Bristol Zoo Press Office:

Lucy King, T: 0117 974 7306, E: lking@bristolzoo.org.uk

Vanessa Hollier, T: 0117 974 7309, E: vhollier@bristolzoo.org.uk

Notes to editors

·         Bristol Zoo is open from 9am every day except Christmas Day. 

·         Bristol Zoo Gardens is a conservation and education charity and relies on income from visitors and supporters to continue its important work. 

·         In 2011 Bristol Zoo celebrates its 175th anniversary and wants to do more than celebrate.

·         Over that past 175 years, the Zoo has brought six generations of Bristolians closer to wildlife, helped save over 175 species from extinction, established over 30 field conservation and research programmes   all over the world, showed 40 millionschool aged children the wonder of nature and given more than 90 million visitors a wonderful day out.

·         Throughout 2011 we’re bring people, businesses, charities and wildlife together to share amazing experiences that raise awareness and funds to save threatened wildlife and places. To find out more, visit www.bristolzoo.org.uk/whats-on

·         Throughout 2011 we will be focusing our efforts on raising funds and awareness in support of gorilla conservation.

·         Throughout 2011 Bristol Zoo will support theEuropean Association of Zoos and Aquaria Ape Campaign.The campaign aims to make a significant and lasting contribution to the continued survival of apes and their habitats, and is being led by Dr Bryan Carroll, the Director of Bristol Zoo.

·         To find out more about the EAZA Ape Campaign visit the Zoo website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk/conservation-campaigns.

·         Bristol Zoo is involved with more than 100 co-ordinated breeding programmes for threatened wildlife species. 

·         It employs over 150 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 supports – through finance and skill sharing - 15 projects in the UK and abroad that conserveand protectsome of the world’s most endangered species.

·         In 2010 Bristol Zoo Gardens set up a Conservation Fund to raise vital funds to help care for threatened animals and plants – both in the Zoo and through the conservation work we do in the UK and around the world.