Here are the changes I would make to Dudley Zoo IF I had the money to do so (Now I know a thread like this has been done before for this zoo, but I just wanted to show off my personal vision for it): ⦁ Have the flock of Flamingos moved over to the waterfowl area next to the Penguins, merge the old flamingo paddock with the Spider Monkey exhibit and transform it all into one nice big paddock for Pygmy Hippos. And the old macaque enclosure nearby would be used to house the Howler monkeys. ⦁ When the Howler monkeys have moved to the macaque enclosure by the spider monkeys, their pit enclosure could be used to maybe house a group of Coatis or if not it could be used for either the Asiatic Lions or the Colombian Spider Monkeys. ⦁ After Inca eventually passes away in the future, her enclosure could become home to a pair of Sun Bears. ⦁ Now obviously we all know the Snow Leopard enclosure will become extended at somepoint in the future, but before then I've always pictured it housing other big cat species such as Jaguars or Amur Leopards. ⦁ The bush dogs could be moved to another enclosure at the zoo, and their old one could be used to house a pair of Servals OR (even better) it could be extended back towards the Tecton toilets and be transformed into a much larger enclosure for Maned Wolves. ⦁ The Lynx I feel like could do with a bigger cage IMO, although I do not have much in mind as to what else I would do with that enclosure (especially since now it can't be merged with Bart the Geoffroy's Cats old cage since he died last year) ⦁ To be honest I'm not really a fan of the Red Panda enclosure as much, now I'm not saying it's a bad exhibit or anything, but I feel like their enclosure could also be used for North American Porcupines. ⦁ The Giraffes I think could do with a little extension to their paddock as well as some more greenery. The current paddock could maybe be extended a little bit more (as far as close towards the snow leopard enclosure) and be a little more similar in size to the paddock they currently have at Twycross. OR, OR.... They could move the chimpanzees out of their exhibit, transform the outside area into a new giraffe paddock, transform the chimp house into a new giraffe house and even add more species to mix in with the giraffes (e.g. blesbok, oryx, wildebeest, ostrich, lechwe, etc.) and then the old giraffe paddock could be maybe shrunken down a notch and used for Okapi or Dromedary Camels. ⦁ Both the current tapir & anteater paddocks could be merged together to create not a massive, but big enough South American-themed paddock that would house certain species such as Capybara, Patagonian Maras, Brazilian Tapirs, Giant Anteaters, Vicunas, Guanaco, Common Rheas and Southern Screamers. ⦁ The current kangaroo paddock opposite the Barbary sheep could either be merged with both the anteater & tapir paddocks so they become part of the BIG South American paddock OR... it could instead be used to house either Southern Pudus, or a new pair of Babirusa. ⦁ The yellow mongoose/porcupine enclosure opposite the tapir shed could be extended over towards the neighbouring paddock for Parma Wallabies (which would then be demolished as it would be too small to house even a tiny species of deer or antelope) and maybe add some sort of indoor viewing window somewhere so people can actually get to see both animals when they are not outside. OR... more realistically, I would probably have the Yellow mongooses replaced with a pair of Dwarf Mongoose since I prefer that species (Not that I hate the Yellow mongooses but whatever, YKWIM) ⦁ The old Barbary sheep paddock could be emptied out and then transformed into a great big aviary which would probably house a large bird of prey species (e.g. Andean Condors), OR... they could even merge it with both the neighbouring Tortoise & Wallaby exhibits to allow more room for the Barbary Sheep to walk around. OR... they could be moved onto the chairlift hill next to the baboons and their old paddock could be used for Mishmi Takin instead. ⦁ The African spurred tortoise paddock I think would look nice with a pair of Kirk's Dik-Dik. ⦁ Binturongs could be added into the enclosure with the Otters (although this would mean having to place climbing frames around parts of the enclosure and even an Indoor viewing shed which would be built specifically for the binturongs) ⦁ The Lemur Wood area I think could do with a little extension to it as well as adding a few more species of Lemur into the walkthrough (e.g. Red-Bellied, Red-Fronted, White-Fronted, Crowned, Alaotran Bamboo, etc.) and access into one of the viewing windows would be quite nice. ⦁ The Asiatic lions could be moved into the pit enclosure which currently houses the Howler monkeys and the current enclosure could instead be used to house either African Lions or even just a pair of Cheetahs. ⦁ As much as I would love to see the African wild dog enclosure be used as an extension to the existing Orangutan exhibit, I have always felt like it could be suited to house either Dholes or Striped Hyenas instead. ⦁ The paddock housing the White-lipped peccaries I think could also be used to house another different suidae species (e.g. Warthogs, Red River Hogs, Visayan Warty Pigs, Collared Peccaries or Bearded Pigs). ⦁ The old reindeer paddock could instead be housed to house maybe Bongos or even used just for Kangaroos. I always felt like Dudley Zoo could do with both: More than just 2 kangaroos, and a bigger paddock for them aswell. This paddock could be used to house groups of both Red and Western Grey Kangaroos as well as a pair of Emu to fit in with the Australian-theme. ⦁ I always felt like the chairlift hill (which is currently home to Gelada baboons and Sulawesi macaques) could be used also to house other mountainous species like Rock Wallabies, Barbary Sheep, Markhors, OR they could even just move the Guanaco into that area as it would be more suitable for them to be up there than down at the old Bear Ravine. I also think it would be nice to see some Rock Hyrax sharing the enclosure with the Gelada Baboons just like they do at Edinburgh Zoo. ⦁ The wallaby walkthrough I think would not be suitable for larger animals such as kangaroos or emus as it is way too small, so I would probably have the whole area emptied, revamped and then turned into a new enclosure for the Bush Dogs. ⦁ The meerkat enclosure I think could be extended a little bit so they have a bigger space in their exhibit and if possible maybe mix them with either Yellow mongoose, porcupines, or even Aardvarks! (IF the enclosure is big enough to house both species though) ⦁ The old badger enclosure (where the Parma wallabies used to be kept years ago) could either be demolished or extended then transformed into a new exhibit which would house any small species of Tortoise (like Leopard Tortoise for example) ⦁ I do feel like a new Cassowary exhibit could be built next towards the sea lion pools, over where the crested newt ponds and Lar gibbon enclosures are located (the gibbons could be moved in with the orangutans once their enclosure has been extended) They could then demolish the old gibbon housing and have it replaced with a bigger indoor viewing area which would be used for both Cassowaries (as they would have to be kept in seperate paddocks of course) ⦁ The old aviary located opposite the sea lions could maybe be extended a little bit and used to house Geoffroy's Cats or Margays. ⦁ The primate houses behind the Discovery Centre I think could do with some more little primates or even a nocturnal enclosure inside one of the houses which would house either Bushbabies or Slow Lorises, OR even Aye-Ayes if possible! The Aye-Ayes could even share their exhibit with a pair of Malagasy Giant Jumping Rats. (Just like they used to do at WMSP). ⦁ I always feel like maybe Pelicans could even be added into the waterfowl area next to the Penguins (if there is enough room for them of course) ⦁ With the old Discovery centre now closed, I feel like this exhibit could be transformed into a new Aquarium similar to the one they have at Chester Zoo as I think it would look great for DZG indeed. ⦁ The castle field next to the penguins which currently houses Cameroon sheep could instead be used to house Llamas, Alpacas, or even a Herd of Sika Deer! (unless they move the Reindeer over to that area, which would be good anyway) ⦁ The red squirrels I think could do with a bigger cage (nuff said), they could also do with bringing back the Prairie Dogs and putting them back in their old enclosure where they were kept years ago until they disappeared from the collection. ⦁ The old chimpanzee paddock at the corner of the zoo could be emptied with the chimps being moved to another UK collection (like Twycross for example) they could extend the paddock a little further and use it to house the Giraffes OR... even better, they could get rid of the old chimp housing, build a much bigger house next to the Lorikeet Lookout and use the existing paddock to house a big family herd of Asian Elephants. (Depending on the money it would cost not only to keep the elephants there, but also to build the exhibit altogether though) And that way then the visitors should get a better chance to actually see the Elephants at Dudley Zoo in a bigger environment for them than the one where they used to be housed at until a few years ago. Just imagine it being like the elephant paddocks at either Twycross or Chester but just a little bigger perhaps. (You never know, it could work!) ⦁ A few species that I feel like could be added into the Lorikeet Lookout exhibit are: Ground Cuscuses (in the enclosure where the White-throated monitors are kept), Lesser Malayan Chevrotains (where the Agoutis are now) and maybe a Species of Armadillo to wonder freely inside the exhibit or if not add a pair of Two-Toed Sloths instead. ⦁ I know the farmyard has had some work being put into it over the past months, but I feel like that area could also do with animals like Donkeys or Zebus (If there is enough room for them though) ⦁ The field opposite the farmyard where the Bear Ravine is could either be used to house a herd of Fallow Deer OR... even better, it could be transformed into a great big African Savannah-themed paddock which would be used to house NOT giraffes, but other animals such as Grevy's Zebra, Wildebeest, Nyala, Nile Lechwe, Scimitar-Horned Oryx, Congo Buffalo, Kafue Lechwe, Ostriches and White Rhinos! (Although of course this would mean that a new indoor building and stables would have to be added in for the White rhino as they are quite massive animals and would need a proper type of exhibit) ⦁ The camel enclosure next to the farmyard I think could be emptied out, extended over to where that old playground is located, and then be used to house Malayan Tapirs OR even Black Rhinos or Indian One-Horned Rhinos! (which means they would need much bigger housing of course as well as a fence between both sides of the paddock). ⦁ And last but not least, I think they could do with removing the bloody fun fair by the entrance and maybe build an enclosure for Kune-Kune Pigs around in the same area. Well, that's all I the changes I have that I would make to Dudley Zoo if I owned the place. What do you guys think of these plans?
Why would you want to get rid of the only white-lipped peccaries in the UK and replace them with something as common as Warty Pigs or red river hogs? Doesn't make any sense to me!
I didn't say I wanted to get rid of them, these are just my plans for otherwise. (Incase they get moved to another enclosure in the zoo, or to another collection like Chester for example).
I have just lately thought of a few new ideas for my PV of Dudley Zoo, including some new species to add to the collection: Since the Yellow Mongooses have already left the collection this year to make way for the new Binturong enclosure, I was thinking they could maybe build a new enclosure inside the Giraffe house to hold a pair of Dwarf Mongoose opposite the stalls. And yes, I know Dudley has briefly kept this species before in what used to be Monkey Tails before it became Lorikeet Lookout in 2016 and all, but they are among one of my favourite mongoose species and would be a rather nice addition to the Giraffe house. If the zoo does decide to move the Red-necked wallabies to another enclosure or even send them off to another collection, they could empty out the entire walkthrough enclosure by the meerkats and have it transformed into a new exciting enclosure for Komodo Dragons. They could replace the small fence surrounding the area with a much, taller fencing which should contain viewing windows so visitors can get a good glimpse of the enormous lizards in their naturalistic surroundings, and hopefully if they do this the former Elephant house could also be renovated as an indoor exhibit for the Dragons themselves. (Only trouble is the former Elephant house of course is also the off-show area for the birds of prey which take part in the displays, so they may have to be moved elsewhere if that is the case) I've also thought of maybe wanting to add Long-Nosed Potoroo into Lorikeet Lookout (since they are from the same habitat of course) as well as adding a pair of Two-Toed Sloth into the exhibit to wonder about freely. (And yes, I know I already mentioned that in my previous post and all, and sloths aren't from the same habitat as lorikeets but still!). And if they do add Sloths to that exhibit, I was thinking they should also add an internal viewing den for them to go maybe outside or inside the Lorikeet walkthrough exhibit underneath a shade. The internal den should come out as more of a nocturnal viewing area so visitors can see the sloths even when they are not visible inside LL. I also thought that if possible, they can also keep Hairy Armadillos inside the nocturnal viewing area alongside the sloths (especially since DZG was originally planning on housing these species inside the former Tropical Bird House by the Asiatic Lions, but the plans had to be halted instead).
