Dudley Zoological Gardens Dudley Zoological Gardens in 2018

I'm so glad the Naked mole-rats have finally joined the collection, another great addition to the zoo's growing collection IMO.

 

But Chester still have some of theirs, right?

Looks like a pretty cool exhibit.

 

A number of animals are leaving the collection to form breeding programmes elsewhere. The porcupines, 2 male Parma wallabies and 10 Humboldt penguins have already left and the yellow mongoose are due to go this week. A binturong will be joining DZG from Olomouc Zoo - it's new enclosure should be ready by May Day.
Fond farewells - Dudley Zoological Gardens

 

Haven't they still got any female Parma wallabies in the collection? Because I remember actually seeing more than 2 of them in the enclosure at one time.

 

Glad they're having a refresh. There was a time when the collection barely changed at all for years on end.

I've never seen the porcupines awake (probably because I always visit in the morning), so can't say I'll miss them which is a shame.

The Parma wallaby enclosure was/is quite small, a real pain to view, and unnoticed by most visitors.

They've always done well with the penguins, having continually maintained a colony of I think about 60+ individuals. In January, they mentioned they had 80, which is probably what has prompted the move of 10.

Yellow mongoose are a great species, so will be missed. They were always active and good to watch but their enclosure was quite poor. Pity they couldn't go somewhere else in the zoo. Their departure means they won't be sharing a new enclosure with the incoming binturong as a was originally stated.

So this leaves the yellow mongoose enclosure and the Parma wallaby enclosure both empty. These enclosures are actually right next to each other. Will the new binturong enclosure incorporate the former yellow mongoose enclosure and the former Parma wallaby enclosure? This would make it a good size.

 

I always had the opposite experience with the porcupines and the Yellow mongoose - don't think I ever saw the mongoose, but often saw the porcupines. Also strange - I never seem to see the red pandas from below, but always seem to get a good view of them romping around from above.

 

DZG had 15,612 visitors during February half-term week; the highest number on record. Compare this to February half-term last year, when they had just 6,528 visitors.

Additionally, throughout all of January and February they had a total of 30,605 visitors, which is a 78% increase on last year, when the first two months brought in 17,194 people.

Of course the increase may be due to better weather this year (well, at least before this "beast from the East" arrived), but it may also be the end product of the zoo continuing to invest in improving their enclosures and visitor experience over recent years. Good for them, nice to see it paying off.

Half term high! - Dudley Zoological Gardens

 

An Amazon tree boa has arrived to the collection from Sparsholt College in Hampshire and can now be seen in the Reptile house

New reptile resident - Dudley Zoological Gardens

 

Visited today.
A really good visit; full of surprises and new developments.

Beautiful weather throughout. Probably the warmest it's been all year so the animals were making the most of it.

Saw all the geladas; breeding group (including babies) and bachelor group.

Didn't see Inca (Asiatic black bear).

The new snow leopard extension is completed and looks great; packed full of platforms, foliage and enrichment. Viewing is good too. The whole enclosure must now be about 45m long at a rough guess. Massive improvement. Only quibble is that I'd rather they'd built a ramp instead of steps up to the viewing area to make it more accessible for others.

The snow leopards themselves had been separated; one in the extension and one in the old part. Although they were interacting through the mesh and keeping an eye on one another.

The outdated giraffe house and enclosure REALLY need extending/rebuilding within the next few years. To me it's one the houses/enclosures most in need of major work, second only to the orangs.

No changes to the camel or tapir/capybara/mara enclosures.

The yellow mongoose enclosure has gone. Work has started on building the new binturong enclosure in its place, which looks a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. Left wondering if the binturong will be sharing the enclosure with anything else.

The triple parrot aviaries have gone. Work has started on replacing them with a larger single aviary for scarlet macaws (according to a nearby sign).

Saw four African hunting dogs who were all unusually active and playful (they're normally fast asleep whenever I visit).

I'd forgotten that the male Asiatic lion has passed away until I looked into the enclosure and saw the 2 old lionesses sunbathing by themselves. I wonder if the zoo will get another male or let them live out their retirement in peace. I wouldn't be surprised if the were past breeding age by now anyway. Couldn't see any signs of work starting on the proposed new viewing platform.

Went around the lemur walkthrough. No changes to it, but there was the noticeable absence of any ringtails, which was a bit weird. Only saw four back-and-white ruffed and the black lemurs were huddled together in their house. There are collard lemurs in there too, but I don't usually see them unless I remember to look into their house.

It was a very nice surprise to see that the lar gibbons have had another baby. It's still very young and hasn't been announced by the zoo yet but appeared to be doing very well. The male and female (with baby attached) were sunbathing on the grass, while the two juveniles were busy playing 'tree tag'.

Sprout (young orang) threw poo at me over the moat. Thankfully dodged it!

Some new children's playground equipment has been installed by the Queen Mary restaurant and some more by the camels.

Spent a good 15 minutes watching the ever active capuchins. Fascinating to observe the group dynamic/ hierarchy and all the subtle social interactions.

The Nile monitor in the reptile house looked very worse for wear; like it had been in a fight.

No changes to the red squirrel cages, which are due to be demolished to make way for a new enclosure for a group of six Prevost's squirrels.

No changes to the farmyard (although I'm not expecting it to change much).

The new naked mole rat display is good, especially all the animal info/facts surrounding it. However, did not see any.

Unfortunately, did not see which option in the 2018 vote between the orang, chimp, and bear ravine enclosures is currently in the lead.

Pics are in gallery.

 

I noticed the Parma Wallaby paddock between the Barbary sheep paddock and what will eventually become the Binturong enclosure is still there in the background. Does anyone know if that will be used as part of the exhibit or will they be putting another small species inside that area?

Either way it's a shame the Parma wallabies are no longer kept at the zoo anymore as they were one of my all-time favourites.

 

Actually, I don't think they are going out of Parma wallabies completely. I originally thought that 2 males was all they had, but after visiting today that doesn't appear to be the case. I think I recall seeing at least 3 today and one looked to be pregnant or possibly carrying a joey.

 

Oh, how charming!

 

The baby lar gibbon was born on 14th March. The zoo have also recently had twin ring-tailed lemurs.
Three new babies! - Dudley Zoological Gardens

 

Then I guess that means Parma wallabies should be put back into the current inventory for Dudley on Zootierliste. Oh well, it's good to know they've still got them.

 

Just had a quick look through my laptop's recycle bin and found this.

 

Black and white ruffed lemur born.
It was born on March 14 and is the first to be born at the zoo in 21 years.
Rare baby makes appearance - Dudley Zoological Gardens

Barbary sheep born.
It is a male and was born a few weeks ago.
www.dudleyzoo.org.uk/welcome-windsor/

 

You beat me to it by seconds with the Lemur birth haha

 

I just had a marvellous morning at the zoo - I had got my mother a "feed the big cats" experience for her birthday (which, oh what a shame, was an experience for two people so I got to join in!) It was amazing feeding the tigers, but I think I enjoyed seeing behind the scenes and talking with the keeper just as much!

We didn't spend a huge amount of time at the zoo afterwards as it was extremely busy. Usually we go in the winter when it is much quieter than on a glorious, sunny day in the Easter holidays. However, I got to see the new enclosure being built for the binturong, which has an indoor area with a big viewing window. The Parma wallaby enclosure next door is still there. They have also demolished the outdoor parts of the three aviaries near the otters and have replaced it with one large area. A sign said it would be for the scarlet macaw. The indoor part at the back seemed to be unchanged.

 

The black and white lemur baby is a boy and has been named Zeus. Hello little Zeus! - Dudley Zoological Gardens

 

The new aviary (that replaced the triple aviaries next to lemur wood) is complete and now houses 8 scarlet macaws. Macaws move in - Dudley Zoological Gardens

The article mentions that the Goffin's cockatoo and the yellow shouldered Amazon parrots have moved elsewhere on site whilst the military macaws have gone to Tilgate Nature Centre.