This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A devastating fire that killed rare species of bird, fish and snake at Chester zoo was caused by an electrical fault, the fire service has said.

Cheshire fire and rescue service said its investigation into the blaze was continuing but that it was believed to have been accidental.

The zoo’s £40m indoor forest habitat was engulfed in flames when the fire started shortly after 11am on Saturday.

Zookeepers revealed that mammals including six orangutans, four gibbons and 18 macaques had to be lured away from the blaze using bananas.

The zoo confirmed that rare species including tentacled snakes, cinnamon frogs, betta hendra fish, Amano shrimps, question mark cockroaches and birds such as grosbeak starlings were unable to survive.

It said new homes had been found for all the animals that were led to safety and that species such as the Sunda gharial crocodiles, painted batagur turtles and giant Asian pond turtles were in good health inside the monsoon forest in an area unaffected by the fire.

Managers at the zoo have said they were “totally overwhelmed” by the public response to the disaster after raising more than £140,000 in online donations. The zoo has said the money would be put to its conservation work around the world as the cost of repairing the badly damaged habitat is recovered through insurance.

Lee Shears, an area manager at Cheshire fire and rescue service, said: “This was a large and complex operation involving more than 80 firefighters from Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales fire and rescue services.

“Firefighters and zoo staff worked closely together in an incredibly challenging situation to evacuate the building and rescue as many animals as possible.

Play Video 0:27 Fire at Chester zoo prompts evacuation of visitors – video

“The professionalism and expertise of the staff at the zoo meant that many precious species were saved.”

Jamie Christon, Chester zoo’s chief operating officer, added: “We’re grateful that the fire and rescue service has been able to conclude its investigation into the cause of the fire so swiftly and would again like to thank them for their valiant efforts on the day, which helped us to rescue so many animals and minimise the extent of the damage.

“Our efforts now will focus on rebuilding monsoon forest so we can return some very special species back to their home and continue our mission to prevent extinction.”