Bristol Zoo Gardens scoops top award for penguin conservation at British Zoo “Oscars”
Bristol Zoo Gardens scoops top award for penguin conservation at British Zoo “Oscars”
Bristol Zoo Gardens received one of the top awards from the zoo world today, following a prestigious awards ceremony to recognise conservation work.
The Zoo won the Significant Advances in Husbandry and Welfare award for its work in developing silicone flipper bands for African penguins to carry out vital research on wild species.
It also won three commendations at the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) awards held at Marwell Zoological Park and attended by more than 100 people.
Commendations were for Best New Animal Enclosure for its new Monkey Jungle which opened last year; Best Marketing Project for the birth of Komale the Western Lowland Gorilla in December 2006; and for Best Education Project for its Frogs and Friends – Don’t Let us Croak campaign about the threats to amphibians.
The rubber flipper bands, used for the tracking and identification of individual penguins, have enabled the birds to avoid the ruffled feathers and chafing associated with traditional metal bands.
They were developed by Professor Peter Barham from the University of Bristol and made by keepers and volunteers at Bristol Zoo Gardens. These bands have now been tested on the birds at Bristol Zoo and, subsequently, on wild birds on Robben Island in South Africa.
Bristol Zoo Gardens’ head of birds, Nigel Simpson, said he was pleased the Zoo had continued to do so well in the awards and felt it was important to continue entering them as they highlighted good work.
He said: “It is great to receive these awards. They show that the industry recognizes the work that goes on at Bristol. We are really pleased to be able to improve the welfare of wild banded penguins, help with the conservation of the species and at the same time increase our knowledge of the factors affecting wild populations.”
BIAZA is a conservation education and scientific wildlife charity, which acts as the principal professional zoo body representing the responsible zoo community in the UK.
The Zoo was one of 14 winners chosen from 62 entries. Held annually for more than a decade, the BIAZA awards recognise outstanding contributions and achievements in the fields of wildlife conservation, advances in animal welfare and husbandry, sustained breeding programmes, marketing, PR, education, research, enclosure design and individual outstanding achievement.
Dr Miranda Stevenson, Director of BIAZA comments: “The award-winning programmes under the spotlight today demonstrate the huge investment of energy and resources made by our leading zoos to support habitat and species conservation.
“Conservation within zoos and aquariums is a vital part of the work to protect threatened species and to help change public behaviour and ensure the future of Planet Earth. These awards recognise and celebrate the vital contributions that our members are making to conservation and education each year. Equally, they are standard bearers for excellence in animal husbandry and welfare.”
ENDS
For more information contact Bristol Zoo Press Office:
Lucy Parkinson, T : 0117 974 7306, or email: lparkinson [at] bristolzoo [dot] org [dot] uk
Rebecca Sawtell, T: 0117 974 7389, email: rsawtell [at] bristolzoo [dot] org [dot] uk
