Bedminster's Wow! Gorillas help Bristol Zoo raise over £427,000 for charity

Bedminster's Wow! Gorillas helped Bristol Zoo to raise over £427,000 for Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal and the zoo's gorilla conservation projects at auction last night.

Spider Monkey, which was sponsored by North Street Traders, fetched £10,000 at auction, while Bristol City's Alfred raised £7,000.

Last night's event saw 550 people pack into Clifton's Victoria Rooms for the auction and at times the bidding was fierce. The most popular sculpture was Gorizambard which fetched £23,000.

Director of Bristol Zoo, Dr Bryan Carroll, said: "Wow! Gorillas has been a fantastic way to celebrate Bristol Zoo's 175thbirthday this year as well as being a great way to raise funds for two very important causes - our conservation projects for critically endangered gorillas here and in Cameroon, as well as Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal which is raising funds for the cardiology unit at Bristol Children's Hospital."

Nicola Masters, Director of the Grand Appeal, said last night: "We are absolutely thrilled with the fantastic amount that has been raised at auction this evening. 

"We are so thankful to Bristol Zoo for choosing to work with us on this project which has been enjoyed by so many people over the summer.

"The money raised tonight will have a huge impact on our Cardiology Appeal."

The little gorillas which appeared around the city this summer will be returned to the schools and nurseries which sponsored and decorated them.

Win a Wow! Gorilla

If, like me, you didn't have the thousands of pounds needed to bid for a Wow! Gorillas sculpture, Bristol Zoo is also holding a raffle offering the chance to win limited edition Wow! Gorilla prizes:

•First prize is an unpainted, small gorilla, the same size as the schools' gorillas.

•Second prize is a small piece of a Formula One Marussia Virgin racing car engine in a presentation display box.  (Earlier this summer the Wow! Gorillas logo featured on the nosecone of the Marussia Virgin Racing Formula One team car at the Belgian Grand Prix.)

•Third prize is a limited edition, small ceramic Wow! Gorilla, painted in the style of one of the 61 Wow! Gorilla designs.

Raffle tickets cost £1 each and are available from Bristol Zoo until Friday, October 28, when the winners will be drawn. 

Raffle tickets are also available online at www.bristolzoo.org.uk/win-a-wow-gorilla

Good luck!