Dudley Zoo has started the new decade with a new name, or rather an old one. The zoo has rebranded itself as 'Dudley Zoo and Castle'. New year, new name – Dudley Zoo and Castle
Time to make yourself a cup of tea, put your feet up, switch off your computer and go for a walk because it’s time for the annual ‘what happened at Dudley Zoological Gardens in the previous year (2019)… thing’. All before the ‘Dudley Zoo (and Castle) News 2020’ thread comes fully into focus. Upgraded, refurbished, new, and future exhibits - Bear ravine (future ‘new’ exhibit) In January 2019 it was announced that the bear option had won the ‘2018 vote’, and hence that work on constructing a new ~£250,000 enclosure for brown bears in the bear ravine would begin in Winter 2019, with the bears hopefully in situ before the end of Spring 2020. There have been no other updates or new information from the zoo to the public regarding the proposed 1.5-acre enclosure for a while. On a visit at the beginning of October it was seen that a line of tape had appeared along the steep wooded bank above the bear ravine. It is assumed this was marking out the intended new boundary of the outdoor area, which felt encouraging as it encompassed a lot more of the hillside than expected. It was also disconcerting that this was the only change to the bear ravine that was seen all year. I know the zoo said building work would hopefully begin in the winter, but I half imagined I see a lot of small preparatory changes well before then, such as the resident guanacos, goats and rheas being moved elsewhere. I also thought I’d see their old housing already demolished and the old fencing taken down, and even signs of construction materials being stockpiled on the grass. The last Zoochatters to visit Dudley in 2019 (as far as I know) visited on 27th November (admittedly not quite Winter) and reported they still could not see any evidence that work on building the new enclosure had begun or was close to beginning. At the time of posting this, work may have indeed now started, but this is still slightly concerning as there’s still a heck of a lot of work to do and Spring 2020 isn’t that far away. However, as one Zoochatter pointed out, the meteorological Spring doesn’t technically finish until the end of May, so from that point of view any concern is unwarranted, although at the very least I would have thought the zoo would want the enclosure finished in time for the Easter holidays. To evaluate oneself for a moment… am I excited to see this enclosure? Yes. Am I being overly impatient/concerned as a result? Partly, yes. This is a hugely important build for Dudley, one that will automatically become one of their main exhibits. However, it’s also useful to remember that it will undoubtedly be a highly difficult as well as technical build; incorporating a steep wooded hillside and what is in my opinion the best example of a listed Tecton structure anywhere in the world. I also hope that the proposed new modern housing, to be located at the opposite end of the paddock, and large climbing structure will be of a high standard. - Tiger enclosure (future upgraded exhibit) In January 2019 the zoo gave an update on the tiger project. The tiger project was the winner of the ‘2017 vote’. The project will involve extending the outdoor area, constructing additional climbing platforms, as well as building brand new dens with indoor viewing. Work was originally supposed to start in September 2018, but work did not commence. In January the zoo confirmed the project is still going ahead but has been delayed thanks to the historical importance of the site making it a much longer process to gain planning permission. This is understandable. The fact the tiger enclosure incorporates a 1930s listed Tecton, is in the grounds of an 11th century castle, and sits on a geologically important site, with numerous protected trees, means the zoo has to satisfy significantly more criteria than normal and makes things 100x more complicated. The first plans the zoo submitted were not approved after heritage organisations ‘Twentieth Century Society’ and ‘Historic England’ requested alterations and more details about the plans. I have seen the zoo has recently submitted amended plans which I believe are now awaiting approval. As soon as planning permission is approved work will begin as soon as possible. - Great grey owl aviary (refurbished exhibit) After the zoo’s pair of great grey owls, 12-year-old Granville and 11-year-old Ursula, had continued to fail to breed over the past few years, the pair were taken off-show temporarily while their aviary was completely refurbished. Much of the foliage was cut back and the roof was changed, making it roomier and a lot lighter, and new perches were installed. - Lemur walkthrough (refurbished exhibit) The one-acre lemur walkthrough, which first opened in 2005, was closed for a few weeks while it underwent a major refurbishment. The changes to it included: New signage. A children’s rope bridge. Refurbished walkway fencing. Large new balcony areas. An information hut explaining the work carried out by the Lemur Conservation Association (AEECL) which the zoo supports. A spruce up of the large pool and waterfall. A major cut back of the foliage to allow for regrowth. As a result, for the rest of the year the walkthrough didn't have same lush immersive feel that it was favourably known for. However, I'm sure that will improve once the foliage starts to grow back again this year. Resurfacing the paths from loose gravel and awkward slopes to smooth tarmac. This is by far the biggest and most significant improvement. The paths in the lemur walkthrough used to be fairly inaccessible for visitors with pushchairs, wheelchairs, and mobility scooters etc. to use, so these changes will make a big difference to people's visits. My only quibble is that there are still a few steps at the far end, meaning aforementioned people may still find difficulty in completing the circuit around the lemur walkthrough. Due to the zoo being located on and around a steep hill, something they can’t change, DZC will always be poorer in terms of accessibility when compared with most other zoos. This is why it is so much more important for them to improve the little things that they can change, in order to make the zoo as accessible and therefore as attractive to as wide a variety of people as possible. - Ex-polar bear Tecton (refurbished new exhibit) Inca’s (Asiatic black bear) death in March subsequently raised the question of what would now happen to her enclosure. A listed Tecton, the iconic former polar bear enclosure had been left abandoned for over two decades prior to the start of Inca’s occupation in 2011. Would that happen again? However, thinking about it, leaving the enclosure empty just isn’t Dudley’s style these days so it felt highly likely that the enclosure would be repurposed for something else. Suggestions of appropriate species by zoochatters were… macaques, tayra, black-footed cat, Geoffroy's cat, white-nosed coati, crab-eating raccoon, binturong, ocelot, sun bear, sloth bear, Pallas cat, Japanese macaque, and North American tree porcupine. A common characteristic of these suggested species is that they are all good climbers or fairly arboreal to a certain extent, which would suit the smaller floor space relative to the verticality of the pit-like enclosure, as well as the existing vegetation and climbing structures within it. However, a few months later the zoo placed a sign on the front of the enclosure; ‘New Exhibit Coming Soon: Arctic Foxes’. Arctic foxes are a fantastic new species for Dudley and a species not held by many medium to large zoos in the UK. That being said, in my opinion the enclosure would have better suited something more arboreal as per some of the suggestions above. Whilst some Zoochatters think the enclosure is indeed a good fit, I’m not so sure. To be clear, I do think the Arctic foxes ‘fit’, but just not as well as some other species would. And it’s not that I think it’s a bad enclosure either for Arctic foxes. It’s that I don’t find it to be a particularly large or impressive exhibit for the species, which is what I think all new exhibits should be like if zoos are to go anywhere (take Dudley’s new sloth enclosure as an example). It hasn’t raised the overall average quality of DZC’s exhibits. To me it’s just a tad small in terms of floor space for a fast moving, active and mostly ground dwelling species, and a bit plain/uninteresting at the moment. I’d rate the new exhibit as okay to good rather than good to excellent. I know I’m probably being overly harsh and picky, and due to the protected status of the Tecton there’s very little they can do to modify it. Perhaps I’ll warm to the enclosure in time. On the plus side, an infinitely more knowledgeable zoochatter than me pointed out that the foxes are fairly nimble and will make use of the existing platforms within the exhibit, and I have seen videos and pictures of them doing just that. They are a hardy species so the old bear dens should be perfectly fine for them, and the bark chipping substrate, which must be several metres deep within the original pool area, is great for them to dig in. Several large plastic tubes have also been added to act as tunnels/burrows, although, as another zoochatter noted, these could do with being concealed better by the substrate otherwise they look rather scruffy. The zoo has planted several ‘pine tree’ saplings (in place of the cleared vegetation) in the pit too, which if they take hold and do well, could in several years’ time create a much more interesting enclosure and perhaps pave the way for a slightly more 'fitting' and perhaps interesting species (e.g. tree porcupines). - Sloth enclosure (new exhibit) In May, a female coppery titi monkey joined DZC from La Vallée des Singes, France. It was paired with the zoo’s resident male. The pair moved into the large on-show extension to the lynx dens after the lynx were moved out and more climbing structures and ropes were installed in there. They were also joined by a pair of Goeldi monkeys. This seemed a bit strange as the extension to the lynx dens is relatively new and seemed a big hit with visitors as well as the lynx. However, the zoo explained that this was only temporary as a new enclosure was going to be built for the monkeys on the site of the African spurred tortoise exhibit; in-between the otters and the barbary sheep. In July, the zoo announced the arrival of a three-year-old male Linne’s two-toed sloth, a new species for DZC, from Amazon World Zoo Park on the Isle of Wight. The sloth was placed in the temporarily repurposed lynx house along with the titi and Goeldi monkeys. The zoo also stated that the sloth would be joining the monkeys in their new purpose-built enclosure once it was completed. The new mixed exhibit was officially opened on 25th October and it’s quite impressive; far bigger and better than I think anyone was expecting. The exhibit includes an on-show indoor area as well as private off-show areas. The indoor areas look much larger than the old tortoise house they replaced. Above the public indoor viewing window is a sloping roof which should help to combat any reflections – something which has previously been complained about on other newly built enclosures elsewhere in the zoo, so the fact the zoo have proactively addressed it with this enclosure is a good sign. To the right of the indoor viewing window is a TV screen, which will be playing videos of the sloth being active so visitors can see him even if he is asleep (which will be most of the time). On top of that, having a mixed exhibit consisting of small monkeys and sloths is a great tactic… the active monkeys will counteract the inactivity of the sloth, thus preventing it becoming a torpid exhibit. The outdoor area is a very good size; 5m high at a guess. The large frame is made of timber, which is roofed and sided with steel mesh, except for the convex frontage, which at visitor level has large viewing windows all the way across. Given the large volume of the enclosure, it wouldn't be a surprise if there's room for the zoo’s agouti to go in there as well. This seems further likely as I think the old ground level doorways that were previously used by the tortoises have been kept intact. In short, this new enclosure has made one of the best parts of the zoo even better and increased the average overall exhibit quality of the zoo. - Leaf-cutter ants (new exhibit) A new exhibit for a colony of around 3000 leaf-cutter ants was constructed in the chimp indoor viewing area. A large vivarium to house the nest was built to the left of the chimp viewing windows and a feeding station, surrounded by water, was placed in between the windows. The nest and feeding station are connected via a long line of clear plastic tubing which extends over to the right-hand side of the chimp viewing windows. Freshwater vampire crabs, a new species for DZC, were placed into the water surrounding the leaf-cutter ant feeding station. The exhibit has been done to a good standard and the information display surrounding it, just as with the naked mole rats, is also high quality. It has helped to add more interest to the chimp indoor viewing area, which, due to the quietness of the chimps, has in the past often been a short visit for most visitors. - Orang project (future upgraded exhibit) The zoo passed the £500,000 mark of their aim to raise £800,000 by the year 2020 to build a brand-new Bornean orangutan enclosure. The zoo says fundraising is right on track for work to begin in winter 2020. as this year they will be able to put in the rest of the money. Conservation token vote Instead of the token voting thing we’ve had for the past 2 years, where the public could vote for which major enclosure project the zoo carried out next, in 2019 the zoo launched a vote to let the public decide which one of three conservation projects, focusing on either Tasmanian devils, helmeted hornbills or pangolins, the zoo should support. Again, people who added the voluntary 10% Gift Aid donation to their entrance fee were given a token to allow them to vote for one of three projects... Option 1: The Save the Tasmanian Devil Programme Option 2: The Helmeted Hornbill Working Group Option 3: The IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group The vote lasted all year until 30th December when the votes were counted. The zoo announced that the Tasmanian devils had officially received the most votes, meaning The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program will receive £10,000 (made up of £2,000 each year for five years) while the other two conservation projects will receive a one-off payment of £1,000. First of all, it was a relief that the zoo didn’t do another enclosure vote this year, as they first need to complete the delayed tiger enclosure project, the bear ravine project, and the vitally important orang enclosure project. It was also a nice change in 2019 that there was finally a vote at Dudley where all three of the options were urgent. However, the best aspect of this particular vote was that it made visitors stop and think about each of the three conservation projects and the work they do in order to decide which individual project to vote for. In addition, it brought to people’s attention the dilemma of how not all conservation projects can be supported by one person or one zoo at once. The vote also did a good job of highlighting to the general public the plight of these animals, animals that most people may never have heard of before, as well as the conservation projects out there fighting for their survival. On top of that, it’s nice seeing zoo's supporting and increasing the awareness of critically endangered animals that aren't held by them. Another positive is that people who may not have ever given money to in-situ conservation projects before will have felt like they’ve donated directly to these projects and feel more connected to them. Zoos frequently state that when you visit them your money is going towards animal conservation projects, but you never really know how much or what these projects are. I think the vote made this a lot clearer. Despite all the positives, it has been pointed out more than once that the Tasmanian devil project is probably the project least in need of funds, and the other two projects, which are working in developing countries, should be more of a priority. Naturally, it was the relatively less endangered (according to IUCN) Tasmanian devils, i.e. the furry mammal, that were the most popular with the general public. The zoo has said they'll be doing another token vote in 2020. Thankfully, this will be another vote to decide which one of three wildlife projects the zoo will support. The zoo will be revealing more information about this soon. Visitor numbers During 2019 February half-term week, a total of 27,960 people visited the zoo; the highest on record. Over just three of those days (Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th), the zoo had 14,891 visitors, which is nearly as many that visited over the entire week of Feb half-term in 2018. Feb half-term visitor numbers: 2017: 6,528 2018: 15,612 2019: 27,960 The total visitor numbers for the previous year (2018) were released… Notable arrivals - Four northern hawk owls arrived from Whipsnade Zoo. They went into the former raven aviary opposite the burrowing owls. In my opinion the aviary is poor, with little space or privacy for the birds, and should be knocked down. There is plenty of space to build a long series of large tall aviaries in the space to the left of the burrowing owls, if planning permission allows. In October there were only two owls in the aviary, so two of them may have left the collection or moved off-show. - Two West Indian whistling ducks. - Six white-faced whistling ducks. - Nine eiders. - A male lilac-breasted roller. Arrived from Birdworld in late 2018 but was only announced to the public and put on show in March 2019. He went in one of the aviaries next to the giant anteaters. - Two pancake tortoises, a new species for DZC, from Bristol Zoo. - An Asian brown wood owl, a Eurasian eagle owl, and a Steppe eagle. All three came from Colchester zoo to be part of the birds of prey display. - A female coppery titi monkey from La Vallée des Singes in, France. She was paired with the zoo’s resident male. - A male and female Bali Mynah. - A Linne's two toed sloth, a new species for DZC, from Amazon World. - Freshwater vampire crabs, a new species for DZC. An exhibit was made for them in the water surrounding the leaf-cutter ant feeding station in the chimpanzee indoor viewing area. - Four Arctic foxes. The 5-month-old brothers came from Highland Wildlife Park, Scotland, and went into the ex-polar bear Tecton formerly occupied by Inca the Asiatic black bear. The last time DZC had Arctic foxes was more than 30 years ago. - Black-headed weaver birds. Notable departures Two male howler monkeys. Siblings Tyler (aged 5) and Shelby (aged 4), both born at DZC, went to Jerusalem Biblical Zoo as part of an international breeding programme. A female black lemur. Kimmy (aged 2), born at DZC, to Plankandael Zoo, Belgium. A female pygmy marmoset to Northumberland. A male pygmy marmoset to Chester Zoo. A male ASCO to Somerset. A collared lemur to West Sussex (presumably leaving DZC with 2.0). Six harvest mice to Cumbria. The bachelor Gelada group. The five 11-year-old individuals left DZC for Riga zoo, Latvia, after recommendation by the EEP co-ordinator. The zoo stated they will let the enclosure recover for a few months before another species moves in. The 5 males originally moved to DZG in 2013 from their birthplace in Austria. Notable ‘Births’ Seven Egyptian fruit bats. Twin black-and-white ruffed lemurs; the 2nd and 3rd of their species to be born at DZC. The 1st was a male born 11 months previously. 2.0.1 geladas. A pygmy marmoset. Another black-and-white ruffed lemur. A male yellow-breasted capuchin. Two Bactrian camels; one born in June, one born in August (apparently one of them had to be hand-reared/hand-fed for a while). The 2-month gap between births makes me think the calves were born to two different females. One of these females is the male’s daughter. However, this is purely speculation and unconfirmed by the zoo. Two Bennett's wallabies. Four Patagonian maras. Three Barbary sheep. A female giraffe (b. 22/09/2019) to female Josie (hybrid) and male Kubwa (Rothschild’s). Named Kira. A male burrowing owl Twin ring-tailed lemurs Note: Of course there were most likely many more ‘births’ at Dudley in 2019 that were not announced by the zoo. Notable deaths - Female Asiatic black bear (called Inca) Inca passed away on 21st March 2019. At 38 years old she had exceeded the typical life expectancy of her species by more than a decade and was the oldest Asiatic black bear in Europe, maybe even the world. She was an iconic animal and a massive part of people's visits to DZC over the years. Upon her death, there was a huge outpouring of condolences on social media and a permanent memorial sign was placed next to her old enclosure. Her body was sent to the Department of Natural Sciences at the National Museums Scotland to be preserved for the purpose of research into the welfare, health and conservation of captive and wild bears. For more information about Inca, see the thread titled ‘21st Century Animal Icons: Dudley Zoological Gardens’. - Male Western grey kangaroo The zoo has held two male Western grey kangaroos (called Lou and Harold) ever since they arrived from Chester zoo back in April 2006. It has not been confirmed by the zoo, but this year visitors have only seen one of the elderly ‘roos at the zoo, so it is presumed that one of them has died. It was also noted that a couple of red-necked wallabies had been added to the kangaroo enclosure, presumably to keep the remaining ‘roo company. In 2015 Lou and Harold moved from their small enclosure next to the tapirs, into a larger enclosure to eventually become good neighbours with the anteaters. - Female giant anteater (called Romy) The four-year-old, who arrived at DZC in July 2016 from Olomouc Zoo, Czech Republic, was the first giant anteater ever to be held at DZC. She died on 8th November following a short illness Other things of note - Meller’s ducks went into enclosure with large pool within the lorikeet walkthrough. - In 2019 the zoo published a new guidebook; apparently the first guidebook the zoo has released since 2004. It’s £3, approximately 50 pages, and fairly good. It consists of a basic map (already out of date though, which can’t be helped), animal fact files, useful visitor information, conservation info, as well as a brief history of the zoo, the castle, the chairlift, and the Tectons. It does have its quirks, such as a snow leopard’s natural habitat being remote ski slopes instead of scree slopes. I think it can only be viewed as a good sign when a zoo publishes a new guidebook. - The zoo took temporary care of two Colombian black spider monkeys from Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park after their enclosure at BWCP was attacked by mindless arsonists. The spider monkeys went into Dudley’s black lemur enclosure near the chimps, while the black lemurs went back into their old housing in the lemur walkthrough. - A new enclosed structure was built around the access to the snow leopard dens to act as an extra layer of security, as the existing safety measures, despite continuously working thousands of times faultlessly in the decades since the enclosure was built, still managed to eventually fail in 2018 through human error. - The camel house was extended in order to provide more space for their growing group. In summary On the whole, 2019 seems to have been another largely positive and productive year for DZC, as the zoo continues to slowly improve. If they can improve some the visitor facilities, continue improving smaller enclosures and finally overcome some of their major shortcomings (orangs) within the next two or three years, dare I say it, they may even be close to nudging the likes of London Zoo off people’s lists of best UK zoos to visit. Hopefully they are just getting started. As ever, watch this space. Things to look out for in 2020 - Rather excitingly, work starting in winter 2020 on the new orang enclosure! I spoke about important exhibits earlier on, but they don’t get any more important for a zoo than this one. - Will there be any changes to the ‘Castle Creatures’ exhibit? - Will the handrail of the public walkway in the penguin exhibit be repaired/ replaced? - Will the fence of the bush dog enclosure be repaired/ replaced? - Any info on where the African wild dogs will be going when work starts on the orang project. - Will they replace some of the panels in the macaw aviary so that you can see into it properly? - Any mention that a new giraffe house and extended paddock may be in the zoo’s near-future plans. - Any more details about the new orang enclosure. - Will we see the arrival of a new male snow leopard? - Will the gelada family group and Sulawesi macaques be swapping enclosures again now that the grass in the original gelada enclosure has recovered? - What will occupy the former gelada bachelor group enclosure once the grass has recovered? - Will a new male lion arriving to join the zoo’s 2 lone females? - Will the current lionesses move elsewhere? - Will work finally start on upgrading the tiger enclosure? - Will we finally see tiger cubs again at Dudley? - Completion of the new bear enclosure in the ‘bear ravine’. - The arrival of 3-4 brown bears. - Will all of the lar gibbons be moving into the new orang enclosure or will some individuals remain where they are? - What will occupy the gibbon enclosure if all of the gibbons do vacate it? Will it be a different gibbon species? - Any official announcements from the zoo about the construction of a children’s play barn near the farmyard. According to unconfirmed plans it could contain children’s climbing apparatus, a small soft play zone, an eating area, toilets, disabled access toilets, nappy changing areas, pushchair parking, as well as Changing Places facilities nearby. The idea behind the play barn is that families with young children who want a shorter visit, where they can stay at the bottom of the zoo, can do so without having to walk around the hilly site in order to access facilities. - Will there be any other improvements to visitor facilities? - What happened to the African spurred tortoises? Have they left the zoo, or will they appear somewhere else? A wishlist/ideas for the future thread can be found here. The gallery can be found here.
Love the summary as usual @Benosaurus, and I'd agree that Dudley is definitely moving in the right direction. It's a great time to be a local! Really? I missed them then, as on my last visit (27/11) there was a pair of black swans in there.
Some orangutan news from the zoo's social media... Adult male Jorong turns 25 today. The zoo has restated that work on the new outdoor enclosure should start by the end of 2020, and they have already started the pre-application planning process.
The gelada born on 19th December is a female. Of the 8 geladas born at DZC this is only the second female. Our baby gelada is… – Dudley Zoo and Castle Given the birth rate, I wonder if the zoo will have to build a larger indoor area for the geladas soon, possibly on the site of the fairground.
Weren't they supposed to have already done this 18 months ago or was that just another Dudley zoo pr cockup.
No, right from the beginning when plans for the new orang enclosure were first announced the zoo said that work would start by 2020, so I'm afraid you're mistaken.
No i didn't mean about the work starting I was on about the planning application as stated by the zoo 18 months ago.
I'm pretty sure the other day was the first time the zoo has mentioned anything about the planning application.
It was in the local paper along with the mention of the future Tiger plans and the bear ravine being altered to accept a new species. But the main thing here is what will happen with the wild dogs will they be moved out or will the suddenly vanish without an explanation? Any news on the Inquiry into the Snow Leopard escape yet or as this been buried by the collection? When will the zoo actually start the Tiger extension as they didn't get English Heritage permission to alter the indoor (putting viewing window in) area so why would they need to get English Heritage permission to move a mesh fence? Just a few questions about the collection.
Probably because it is the tiger project that has been delayed and not the orang project, as has been mentioned many times and was explained again in the second post of this very thread. No idea. They will probably leave the zoo as at the moment there aren't any other enclosures in the zoo they could move to. No one's waiting for any news. The keeper accidently left the door/s open. That's it. The zoo was very honest and upfront about the whole thing. Zoo inspectors said they were very happy with the zoo's report and the improvements that had been made, whilst acknowledging that "the risk of human error can never be totally eliminated". It's easy to tell you still have a very vague idea of what the plans actually are, or how construction works, or what planning permission actually involves, especially with a listed building - despite me explaining it before. I recommend you read the planning documents on the council's website to help you better understand.
The tiger enclosure building is listed not the fence at the rear as this as been moved many times over the years.
As I've told you before, it doesn't matter that things like the rear fence are not listed. The heritage organisations are worried about how things like the new non-listed fence will impact the existing listed parts visually.
A male Victoria crowned pigeon has joined the zoo's resident female in the lorikeet walkthrough. The five-year-old male came from Frankfurt Zoo, Germany. The pair have already started nest building. Birds pair up! – Dudley Zoo and Castle
The zoo has announced the candidates for their '2020 conservation token vote'. Option 1 Animal: COTTON TOP TAMARINS Conservation project: PROYECTO TITI "Funding will go into researching the population health of this critically endangered species, assessing their habitats as well as developing community programmes which will encourage the local people of Columbia to help protect these small primates." Option 2 Animal: ASIAN PALM CIVET Conservation project: SAVING VIETNAM’S WILDLIFE "Funding will go towards the rescue and rehabilitation of Asian palm civets, who are taken for bush meat and the pet trade, as well as for their use in creating the world’s most expensive coffee. The organisation also works with the Owston’s civet and other endangered Vietnamese wildlife including pangolins, binturong and leopard cats." Option 3 Animal: GIANT ANTEATERS Conservation project: PROJETO BANDEIRAS E RODOVIAS – ANTEATERS AND HIGHWAYS PROJECT "Funds will help research into the effects of new highways in the Brazilian grasslands on the giant anteater, who are becoming Brazil’s most killed animals in road accidents. Highways are fragmenting populations and stopping gene flow." Visitors who add the voluntary 10% Gift Aid donation to their entrance fee during 2020 will be given a token to enable them to vote for one of the three options. The conservation project with the most tokens at the end of 2020 will receive £10,000 (made up of £2,000 each year for five years) and the two runners up will both receive a one-off payment of £1,000. Who wins? You decide! – Dudley Zoo and Castle
The zoo had a total of 311,303 visitors in 2019; the highest for more than 30 years! What a year! – Dudley Zoo and Castle
"A few animals will also be moved around the site, including the African wild dogs, as their current enclosure will become the new orang enclosure. A new enclosure will be built for our four wild dogs." Dudley Zoo and Castle celebrates best visitor numbers in three decades Unless there's a major announcement, for example like the reindeer and peccaries, giraffes, or lions leaving, then I haven't the foggiest idea where a new African wild dog enclosure could go.
30ft "lemur" statue set to be installed at Dudley zoo... Lemur sculpture set to be installed at Dudley Zoo To say I'm lost for words is an understatement! I only hope that the zoo didn't pay any money for it.
