Dudley Zoological Gardens Dudley Zoological Gardens in 2017

Only if they rehouse the orangs during the demolition and rebuilding (as Blackpool did by sending their group to Chester, which happened to have spare orang accommodation in the old Ape House).

 

Having visited Dudley recently I would suggest they caught up on the maintenance of the enclosures they have,before they even think about doing anything new.But I doubt they will do that they will just wait until the safety of exhibits like the Lemur enclosure is such that they will have to shut it!

 

How about telling us specifically which enclosures and exactly why they are 'unsafe'. That would be more helpful.

 

I named one of them the rest you can work out when you take the rose tinted glasses off.

I am not a fan of nepotism in a zoo and Dudley is a fine example of just what happens when that happens,wasting money upgrading the Reptile House would be better off shutting it as what I saw the person in charge doesn't know what he is doing,as every enclosure was bone dry,and some of the snakes where showing signs of being dehydrated as a result!!

 

Quote I named one of them the rest you can work out when you take the rose tinted glasses off.

I am not a fan of nepotism in a zoo and Dudley is a fine example of just what happens when that happens,wasting money upgrading the Reptile House would be better off shutting it as what I saw the person in charge doesn't know what he is doing,as every enclosure was bone dry,and some of the snakes where showing signs of being dehydrated as a result!! End of Quote

When I visited a large collection recently it was said by many Bird Keepers that the collection hadn't got a clue on how to keep birds but I don't go round belittling staff who try their best and if it was that bad why didn't you report them.

 

I actually don't disbelieve you ZG. I was just asking for more detail. I'm glad you've mentioned it as it's something I'd never have picked up on; reptiles not being my thing. Places need people who know what they're looking for.

As for the 'rose tinted glasses' comment I'd say I'm one of the most critical people of Dudley zoo on here, but I do talk about the positives as well. I am very much pro criticism/feedback as that is what keeps standards high and paves the way for improvement. However, it is very unhelpful when you are so critical yet so unspecific, because that won't bring about change. I also know that you have not liked the new director for some odd reason from the get go, which makes me think some of your criticism may be overzealous, but I'm very happy to be proven wrong when provided with evidence and specifics.

 

The new farm barn is open.
New farm barn opens! - Dudley Zoological Gardens

 

That is so much more sparse than what I was picturing. What's the point of a large space if there's nothing in it? Am I missing something?

 

If you read the article...

“It’s not complete yet and we’ll continue adding more exhibits and animals to it over the coming weeks..."

“We’re also creating separate corners, including a dedicated teaching area and a conservation corner where we can highlight all our animal projects and awareness weeks, which will make the barn more defined..."

"Throughout the holidays, keepers will also be holding Creature Features every day..."

I imagine the zoo will also use it as a classroom for school visits, at times during the day when the barn is not open to visitors.

 

Dear Beno, I wrote "preferred", I never suggested they should urgently do something about the indoors at all. For the record: I do hope they invest all their eggs on the orang outdoors (and not these projects like ... we can do chimp this or bear that ...).

 

The zoo is only building a new outdoor enclosure because it is urgently needed, so saying they could have done the indoors at the same time may have implied that the indoors urgently need doing as well, but fair enough, apologies, I see your point.

 

I do think the Lemur walk through needs a tidy up and the path needs refurbishing to make it passible for disabled people which wouldn't cost too much money unlike all the other projects for the future.

 

Visited today for the first time in about 18 months and I've got to say that, visually, the place is looking a lot better than it has in a very long time.

Not perfect, not without niggles and grumbles (I don't think anything they'll achieve with the orangs in the near future would cut the mustard with me) but for anyone who doesn't visit many zoos and without strong opinions on how they'd do things differently and better (i.e. Joe Public & family, not us) I'm sure it ticks the boxes for a pleasant zoo visit.

Really liked the new capuchin enclosure (spacious and well furnished/used), conversion of Bart's pad is nicely done and, thinking about it, the Red Panda exhibit must be one of the best in the UK(?). New car parking area is a significant improvement on the past -loved the metal sculptures (there last time) & murals. On the down side the cafeteria prices were high (£2.75 for a straight coffee) and and it was noticeable that on a pretty busy day there were next to no queues in the there. There are other negatives too (closing down of Discovery Centre a big one) but I think others have already covered them.

Overall an enjoyable visit. Still a way to go but there seems to be some momentum present.

 

Coffee is only £2.10 at Bristol and that's Clifton prices!

 

I'm pretty sure everything from the old discovery centre is going into the new barn/building next to the farmyard.

I think they should have branded it as a new bigger better discovery centre rather than a 'farm barn'.

 

Visited yesterday.

Overall a really enjoyable visit, but a few things to comment on...

For some reason the mara have been removed from the Howler monkey enclosure and are now in a paddock to the left of the tapirs. I also noticed that at least two of the howler monkeys are currently being held in one half of the capuchin indoor area.

Very disappointed to see that they have still not started work on the snow leopard enclosure. No changes yet to the triple parrot aviaries or the Queen Mary aviary either. However, the new farm barn is completed and is around 3 x bigger than the previous one. I think this is where the animals from the old discovery centre have moved to. It looks a little sparse in there at the moment but the zoo has said there is a lot more to go in. The adjacent farmyard will also be getting an upgrade later this year.

The bush dog enclosure fence could really do with replacing. I'd also like to see them have access to more water. The bush dogs themselves were very active and great to observe. I think they'd just been given some sprats, which had been placed into their pool/puddle.

I wish that one of the 3 options was to replace the giraffe house and extend the enclosure (I overheard another visitor complaining about this too), similar to what Twycross achieved, however I imagine it would cost rather more than 250k.

The giant anteater was a huge crowd draw.

The capuchins are brilliant to watch in their new enclosure. They are so much more active in there, making use of all of the space and equipment.

I'd like to see a more imaginative use of the 'wallaby walkthrough'... *yawn*.

All 7 chimps were unusually active in the outdoor enclosure, still quiet though, but I think they are just very chilled/relaxed rather than being comatose/staring into space.

When oh when will the camels get more space?

Finally, it looks like the tiger option currently has the most votes in the Tigers vs Bears vs Chimp race.

 

[QUOTE="Benosaurus, post: 1035221,

Finally, it looks like the tiger option currently has the most votes in the Tigers vs Bears vs Chimp race.[/QUOTE]
Typical! Tigers are probably the most popular animal which would explain this, but probably the enclosure adaptation that will add least to the zoo!! Never mind!

 

Typical! Tigers are probably the most popular animal which would explain this, but probably the enclosure adaptation that will add least to the zoo!! Never mind![/QUOTE]

Yes, this simply reflects which is the highest profile/ favourite of the three species. So probably no changes for the Chimps in sight.

 

A violet turaco chick hatched on 1st July - the first in the Zoo's history. First violet Turaco - Dudley Zoological Gardens I wonder if this is a reason why work hasn't started on the aviaries?

 

The Zoo has opened up access to the restored bear ravine.

Explore the ravine - Dudley Zoological Gardens

Personally, I'm delighted to read the following from Zoo Director, Derek Grove:

"We’ve got plans in the pipeline to reintroduce European brown bears to the ravine and build new indoor dens separate to the Tecton, which are no longer fit for modern day husbandry. As part of the project we’d also build a large climbing frame and extend the enclosure to include some of the rear bank."