Getting Tribal at Bristol Zoo!

Last weekend I headed to Bristol Zoo with my beautiful baby niece! I haven't been to the zoo for years so I was looking forward to checking out all the animals. Visiting on a manic sunny Saturday was possibly the worst idea I've had in a long time... It was rammed with Groupon ticket holders!

The zoo itself was a bit of a disappointment but I am speaking from an adult's perspective here. I paid £16 to get in and it was, well... Pretty grubby. The windows/glass were all filthy and all the carpets needed vacuuming. That being said, the grounds are well laid out, there are tons of interactive activities for the kids and there are some adorable animals living there! It was definitely a lot better when I was young - Wendy the elephant was alive and there was a giraffe house. For a big city, it's a pretty disappointing zoo... BUT my niece loved it. It's a great day out for the kids, just don't expect to be impressed as a grown up haha.

Dress: New Look - Bag: Warehouse - Flash Tattoos: The Dressing Room - Sunglasses: Ray-ban

My earliest memory of visiting the zoo was when I was 4 or 5 years old and they had a polar bear! I thought I'd made it up (polar bears don't belong in Bristol) but it's so vivid that I mentioned it to my mum at the weekend who confirmed they did have some and this caused a lot of outrage in the 80's. I just found this image online. Gosh! 

After a bit of investigation, I discovered the zoo got its first polar bear in 1856. Woah. It had different polar bears over time (this short video from the 60's is quite charming) but things got controversial in the 80's when Misha was rescued from a Russian circus. She had a lot of mental health problems due to the horrible way she was treated in the past (she was previously kept in a cage) but this was blamed on the zoo. I'm not sticking up for them as the thought of keeping a polar bear in a pit makes me feel a bit sick, but they weren't completely to blame. Sadly Misha and the other polar bear Nina were put to sleep in 1992 while in their thirties (although I've read this isn't a bad old age for polar bears living in captivity).

I have conflicting opinions about zoos, I hate the idea of animals being in captivity but they are educational and they run many important captive breeding programs for endangered animals. A percentage of entrance fees helps conservation projects and goes towards research. In my time overseas I've been lucky enough to see a lot of animals in the wild and I get a bit upset at the thought of zoo animals being kept in confined spaces. I know one thing for sure, after watching The Cove and Blackfish, I will never set foot in a marine park.

The zoo keepers at Bristol do a fantastic job and are so passionate about their job - I know these animals are really looked after. I'd like to learn more about this subject but I will say the sad lions at Bristol zoo make me feel sad.

In unrelated news, we're (probably) less than 100 favourites and retweets away from winning £1000. Both Jade and I would REALLY appreciate it if you'd both favourite and retweet the above tweet. We need both a favourite and a retweet as they count as separate entries. This 2 second act is a massive act of kindness and...

... This little animal says thanks in advance! ;)

Today's snaps were taken in the lovely Bristol Zoo gardens and a note to all, wearing metallic flash tattoos on a sunny day = suntan lines. - T