Dudley Zoological Gardens Dudley Zoological Gardens in 2018

Yeah, I think Dwarf mongoose would have been a great replacement for the Yellow mongooses. But either way, I'm so happy they now have the Binturong in their collection. Finally, another species to tick off from my DZG wishlist!

 

Further to my post a few days ago, I've now had time to check an old Dudley Zoo guide and quote the following information about the source of Dudley's Barbary sheep from the Dudley Zoo guide for 1938:-

The herd on the Mappin Terraces at the London Zoo, about 30 in number, were all bred from a single pair, which speaks well for the purity of the original stock. Since the war, most of the British zoos and many continental ones have been stocked from this herd, and those seen here are no exception.

It is interesting that the fact they were descended from a single pair is considered good!

 

Maybe they had been through a genetic bottleneck and come out the other side.

 

ZSL Barbary sheep had a very high mortality rate in the lambs, at least in the 1960's. Whether due to this extreme inbreeding of the parent stock or other factors I don't know. ZSL seem not to have done much in the way of outcrossing with many of their ungulates.

 

Over the May day bank holiday weekend the zoo attracted 12,187 visitors - the highest for more than 20 years.

The busiest day was the Monday, which saw 5,350 visitors - the highest May Day attendance for 5 years.

Bumper Bank Holiday - Dudley Zoological Gardens

 

A pygmy marmoset was born on May 1. Baby spotting - Dudley Zoological Gardens

The baby lar gibbon is a male, who has been named Gary. The twin baby ring-tailed lemurs have not yet been sexed so have been given unisex names - Sulu and Sarek Gorgeous Gary - Dudley Zoological Gardens

 

Four year old male giraffe, Kito, is leaving DZG today to live in an all male group at Noah's Ark Farm in Bristol. So long Kito! - Dudley Zoological Gardens

 

Visited today.

A very hot day and naturally very busy throughout, but wasn't unpleasant.

Most of the enclosures, and the zoo in general, look great this time of year; really lush and leafy. Most of the animals were active and showing well.

Both gelada enclosures were covered in swathes of giant daisies, particularly the bachelor group enclosure which looked stunning.

Only saw one snowy owl and one burrowing owl. Saw both great grey owls.

The kookaburras were in their old enclosure and quite vocal. Always love hearing them.

Didn't see Inca (oldest Asiatic black bear in Europe), but went back later and there she was lounging in the sun and looking well.

The snow leopards were separated again. The active 3 year old female was in the new extension being very playful, jumping from platform to platform and drawing many 'aahs' from the crowd. The older male was in the original section; sleeping high up in the corner.

It was quite strange seeing only two giraffes. Wonder if they'll be any changes there.

Couldn't see any changes to the tapir/mara/capybara paddock. 'twas devoid of all greenery.

Saw the new binturong! However, only ever saw it dozing inside the 'tree barrel' in the on-show indoor area despite two visits to the enclosure. The on-show indoor area looks good, however, even after seeing it in person, I'm still not sold on the outdoor area. There are more climbing opportunities and a bit more foliage than I first thought, but naturalistic it ain't, especially with all the woodchip. Normally I wouldn't mind that too much, the animal's welfare comes first, but the raised flower beds and oversized bird tables just look silly. I find it strange that they've gone down this route, especially as the nearby new-ish giant anteater enclosure is very naturalistic and looks fantastic.

The Parma wallabies - there's loads of 'em! Counted 6 adults as well as 2 babies running around.

Counted around 19 barbary sheep, which includes three youngsters.

The new scarlet macaw aviary is complete. It looks good. An improvement on the small triple aviaries which it has replaced. It's nicely furnished, and even contains a small waterfall. A nice sight seeing 8 very smart looking macaws together. However, an absolute nightmare to try to photograph as the mesh is so tight. A new viewing area is currently being built around the side (next to the lemur walkthrough entrance). The yellow-shouldered Amazons and the Goffin's cockatoos, along with a Reeves's pheasant, are now living together in the Queen May aviary near the sea lions. Guess they've abandoned the idea of it being turned into a rainbow lorikeet breeding centre for now.

No sign of work starting on the new lion viewing platform.

Saw all 4 orangs. According to the display area they've so far raised £500k of the £800k required for the new enclosure.

To my surprise there was a lone little owl in the former lovebird aviary next to the orang house. The bird looked quite distressed and the aviary quite poor/makeshift.

Needless to say the lar gibbon family were extremely active playing in the trees and dense foliage of their enclosure. I could spend all day watching them. The baby has developed quite a lot since my last visit.

The male Patagonian sea lion was guarding a female at the far end of the left hand pool (as you face the castle), while the other 2 females were lounging on the rocks at the far end of the right hand pool.
Must be quite difficult managing them at the moment. The left hand pool was crystal clear, but the right hand pool really needed a clean.

Went to the bird of prey display. Was really good, but just the one bird today. I missed what the presenter said it was. I think it might have been a lesser horned owl (Bubo magellanicus) but not 100% sure.

Saw the new baby capuchin. The group were busy foraging on the floor. They appear to have finally destroyed all the plants that were once in their enclosure.

The larger lemur enclosure, at the end of the small primate cages, behind the former discovery centre was housing two black and white ruffed lemurs, one of which was nursing a baby.

The new children's beach area, on the site of the former sensory garden, was very popular and nicely done. A good idea. There was a member of staff supervising throughout. However, the best part about it is that you can now view the gelada bachelor group enclosure from the top again.

No signs of work starting on building a separate area for the black lemurs within the lemur walkthrough yet. I saw all four black lemurs in their house, including the baby born this year. I really hope they haven't been cooped up in their house all this time.

Work has started on constructing the new Prevost's squirrel cage. I couldn't get too close as it was cordoned off, but from a distance it looks a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be.

Saw the naked mole rats for the first time; about 5 of them. They're much smaller than I expected.

A new duck paddock and a goat climbing frame (apparently made from bits of the old children's playground) have been built in the farmyard.

Did not see if work has started on extending the camel paddock.

Finally, the bear project is clearly winning the 2018 vote. The orangs are in second place and the chimps just behind in third.

 

I thought the vote was between Tigers- Bears- Chimpanzees as isn't the Orangutan rebuild/new enclosure being funded seperately?

 

That was the 2017 vote, which the tigers won. Work on that will start in September.

They're now doing another vote, the 2018 vote, between the orangs, chimps and bears. Yes funds are being raised for the orang project separately, but they've added it to the new vote so that if it wins, the £250k will be added to what they've already raised in the hope that this will enable them to reach their £800k target a year earlier and hence start building the new orang enclosure much sooner than originally planned.

 

When I was there a month ago, I would guess it was as close as 35% bear, 33% orang, 31% Chimp,so I'll be pleased if bears are winning, as I voted for them both years!

 

A male giant anteater has arrived from Longleat safari park. Hello Bubbles - Dudley Zoological Gardens

I had planning to visit next week so the timing is perfect!

 

Two male black howler monkeys have left DZG for Zoo du Bassin d’Arcachon in France. Six-year-old Arie and Becks, aged five, will join the French collection and could go on to father youngsters of their own in the future. Au revoir Arie and Becks - Dudley Zoological Gardens

 

Those will be the ones that were living in one half of the capuchin house for a while. Hopefully this means the capuchins will now have the run of the entire indoor area again.

 

I visited yesterday, having unwittingly managed to schedule my visit to coincide with the Barnados Big Toddle event and several school parties The Zoo was incredibly busy but I managed to avoid the worst of the crowds by taking a non-conventional route.

As I entered the Zoo, the two youngest gelada baboons were having a fabulous time - chasing each other around and playing. Like Benosaurus, I only saw one snowy owl and one burrowing owl. I had forgotten that Jill the raven had moved to another collection so was surprised to see an owl and golden pheasant in her enclosure.

I was very impressed with the extension to the snow leopard enclosure. There was one snow leopard in the extension but I didn't see the other one. I was really pleased to see the bush dogs, which were very active, as I've not seen them at Dudley before. I had to bite my tongue when several parents told their children to "look at the baby bears"!

A wren has built a nest on one of the posts in front of the tiger's viewing window and was flying in and out feeding her chicks despite all the people around.

Only saw one anteater who was having a great game of 'tease the visitors' - constantly moving between her indoor and outdoor accommodation to make it as difficult as possible to get a photo. There was a keeper working in the second enclosure. The binturong was fast asleep in the barrel in it's indoor enclosure.

I thought the new scarlet macaw enclosure was an improvement on the triple aviaries but, as Benosaurus commented, difficult to photograph due to the mesh. Saw the latest ring-tailed twins in Lemur Wood. Only saw one lioness and no sign of the otters.

The male sealion was very attentive to one female whilst the other two females were at the opposite end of the pool. Saw the latest addition to the yellow-breasted capuchin family. The peacocks were strutting up and down the roof of the Queen Mary ballroom, displaying to all and sundry.

When I arrived at the gibbon enclosure, only the male was outdoors but he was joined by the rest of the family and it was nice to see the three youngsters of various ages and sizes.

The reindeer are in the middle of their moult and look very tatty; ditto the camels. I thought the new farm barn was very spacious and airy. The path out to the new Prevost squirrel enclosure is still closed and construction work is in progress.

Inca, the Asiatic black bear, appeared later in the morning and appeared to be enjoying lying in full sun and rolling on the grass. She looks well for 38.

The naked mole rats were a no-show.

 

A female binturong has joined the collection from Tierpark in Berlin; she will be slowly introduced to the male. Apparently, she is quite confident and has already explored the outdoor enclosure.
Ellie joins Elliot - Dudley Zoological Gardens

Hopefully, her arrival will encourage the male out of the barrel where he seems to spend most of his time fast asleep!

 

Is she the regular subspecies or Palawan origins?

 

I don't think Berlin ever had the Palawan variety, but they were quite prolific breeding the regular subspecies.

 

OK, fine. Just checking. I might have changed since they now have some Philippine species (like the leopard cats).

 

Will be visiting tomorrow 23/06/2018 so will hopefully get to see the new refurbished exhibits and a few new animal species too.
Will be putting images on my Flickr gallery if the species are already in the Dudley Zoo Gallery