This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-46579083
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Fire breaks out at Chester Zoo | Fire breaks out at Chester Zoo |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A large fire has broken out at Chester Zoo prompting an evacuation of visitors and animals. | A large fire has broken out at Chester Zoo prompting an evacuation of visitors and animals. |
| The site is one of the most popular tourism venues in the UK. | The site is one of the most popular tourism venues in the UK. |
| The zoo tweeted the blaze had broken out in its Monsoon Forest habitat. It said teams were working to bring the blaze under control and to move all animals away from the fire. | |
| North West Ambulance said it was rung after 11:40 GMT as a precaution, but there were no patients needing help. | |
| Some visitors at the zoo tweeted images from the scene including David Wearing, who said: "Hope humans and animals evacuated safely - fire crews arriving on their scene." | |
| Sophie Flynn said zoo staff were "working hard to deal" with the fire, which "happened very quickly". | |
| "It started as a little fire [...] which we saw but it's obviously much worse now!" | |
| The Monsoon Forest building is the UK's largest indoor zoo exhibit, according to the attraction, and opened in August 2015. | |
| It is part of the zoo's islands section. The 14-acre section houses Sunda gharial crocodiles, Sulawesi crested macaques, rhinoceros hornbills and a variety of plant species. | |
| It has its own tropical weather conditions, with temperatures reaching 26.6C to replicate conditions in South East Asia. | |
| Wildlife conservation | |
| Chester Zoo is said to be the UK's most visited zoo outside London, drawing nearly two million visitors annually. | |
| It has more than 21,000 animals of 500 different species and has been the subject of many TV programmes including the BBC's Our Zoo drama in 2014. | |
| The zoo says it plays a significant part in wildlife conservation, helping to save endangered species. |