[3] The mammal collection at the zoo numbered around 300, representing 50 species, including: gorillas, Asiatic lions, goodfellow's tree-kangaroo, and red pandas.

The zoo's Twilight Zone was the first of its kind when it opened, there were many other indoor exhibits including an insect and reptile house and aquarium meanwhile outside there were several aviaries and a seal and penguin enclosure.

[12] Closer to home, the zoo helped to reintroduce the water vole and the white-clawed crayfish to parts of Southern England.

They also had conservation projects for Kordofan giraffe, Agalychnis lemur, Negros bleeding-heart pigeon, Sanje Mangabey and Hogna ingens In 2021, as part of the Bristol Zoological Society's focus on conservation, the zoo has been involved in the ongoing captive breeding program to rescue two species of critically endangered Madeiran land snail, (Discula lyelliana and Geomitra grabhami).

Current areas include: Bear wood, Gelada rocks, Discover Madagascar and Benoue National Park.

The species list currently includes red river hog, cheetah, zebra, common eland, meerkat, gelada baboon, reticulated giraffe, wolverine, eurasian lynx, grey wolf, brown bear, Visayan spotted deer, Ostrich and the newest red panda.

The new conservation breeding centre will include Annam leaf turtle, Lesser Antillean iguana, Pancake Tortoise, Radiated tortoise, Roti Island snake-necked turtle, Indochinese box turtle, Agalychnis lemur, Leptodactylus fallax, Marshall's pygmy chameleon, Lygodactylus williamsi, Varanus macraei, Uroplatus, Hogna ingens, Polynesian tree snail, Lord Howe Island stick insect, Socorro dove, Visayan tarictic hornbill, Sumatran laughingthrush, Philippine cockatoo, Javan green magpie, European turtle dove, Mindanao bleeding-heart, Negros bleeding-heart pigeon, pink pigeon, Malagasy cichlids, Malagasy rainbow fish and powder blue panchax, Pupfish and goodeids and White clawed crayfish.