Dudley Zoological Gardens Dudley Zoological Gardens in 2015

Benosaurus said:
Very pleased you decided to visit after all those years GL and your review is bang on the money. I bet you barely recognised parts of the zoo. What prompted your sudden return and will you go back again?
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It is a shame that Dudley is still let down by some of its older exhibits; especially the orangs. However, it is important to remember that DZG is still in the middle of a huge improvement phase in its life and they're hurtling full steam ahead. The new director has already stated that they aim to improve the older, existing exhibits before looking at new ones. Won't stop me being critical though!

Glad you enjoyed your visit.
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I had been thinking of a trip to Dudley to see the changes for a while and I was passing through Birmingham on a reasonably nice morning, so I thought why not? The only snags were that the forecast sunny intervals did not materialise and my satnav didn't know about the new car park and kept telling me to a do a U-turn while I trusted the road signs.
As I said, there was a time when I felt the zoo had become drab and depressing, but I knew from the posts in this thread and its predecessors that the corner was turned some time ago and the zoo has been making real progress. I was glad to see this for myself. I did recognise most of the zoo and some parts have hardly changed. I was wondering whether all the changes were cosmetic or whether there were some genuinely new ideas too: I'm not suggesting that some cosmetic changes weren't required and indeed it is the wrong word to use for the restoration of the Tecton buildings which is both important and significant in the UK zoo scene.
Dudley needed, and still needs, both renovation and innovation, as do the other zoos of similar age such as Whipsnade and Chester. Dudley fell behind the others years ago, so it is working to catch up. On the whole I think that the right choices have been made and the zoo has got the balance between innovation and renovation about right. Proper facilities for visitors are important too and I am sure the work upgrading the entrance will improve the visitor's experience.
When I posted yesterday I thought the zoo only had three orangs, but I see from previous posts and photos that they have two adult males. That confirms my view that better orang accommodation is desperately required. Shorts is quite right to say that the current house is not Tecton and it is not listed, so it could be modified in any way, but I doubt if it could ever meet 21st century standards for orang husbandry: which is why I would only consider using it for other creatures. A new orang house would be expensive, but an imaginative new building plus a new species in the old one could become an attraction to draw in the public.
I hope to post a few photos from my visit soon.

Alan
 
gentle lemur said:
When I posted yesterday I thought the zoo only had three orangs, but I see from previous posts and photos that they have two adult males.

so it could be modified in any way, but I doubt if it could ever meet 21st century standards for orang husbandry: which is why I would only consider using it for other creatures.
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They have two males; Benjamin (older non-breeder born in Rhenen I think)
Jorong(younger breeder, came from Dublin. born at either Dublin or maybe Chester as his mother was ex Chester female Lola.)

& two females; Jaz (Azimat -ex Blackpool x Joe -original Dudley male.)
Sprout.(Jorong x Jaz)

They also had Azimat for many years until she died quite recently. The older male Benjamin is really a 'surplus' male but nowhere else would want him probably.

Agree on the House. I would still prefer to see it erased though...;)
 
Pertinax said:
The history of Dudley's chimps since the 1960's has been rather erratic. In (and Zoo favourite) Pepe. The aim at Dudley then was presumably to allow breeding(?) and form an even larger group. But Pepe unfortunately died before any breeding happened (as the only male he seemed intimidated and outnumbered by this strong clan of females- did they later actually kill him...?) and since then it has remained a female group only. There has been talk of getting more males at times, but still nothing has happened. I have heard more than once on here that the fences are considered unsafe for powerful males.
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The male at Dudley broke the viewing glass a number of times and at one point came through the glass and into the viewing area. I think maybe the glass is too large for the toughened glass to hold? Not really sure, but that's the reason why a new male didn't come, at least back then.
 
Devi said:
The male at Dudley broke the viewing glass a number of times and at one point came through the glass and into the viewing area. I think maybe the glass is too large for the toughened glass to hold? Not really sure, but that's the reason why a new male didn't come, at least back then.
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He did the same in the old(now Orangutan) House too. For many years the Chimp cage had a grille as well as glass.

The Chimpanzee House(and enclosure fence?) really needs altering/an upgrade if its ever to be suitable for male Chimps then, but they seem to just avoid the problem by keeping things as they are.
 
Pertinax said:
The Chimpanzee House(and enclosure fence?) really needs altering/an upgrade if its ever to be suitable for male Chimps then, but they seem to just avoid the problem by keeping things as they are.
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As far as I know, the females have lived together for a number of years and are a tight-knit group so I don't think it would be feasible to introduce a male. I think I'm right in saying that their ages range from around 20 to 40+ which may put some or all of them over breeding age. I think re-locating the existing chimps and bringing in a new breeding group would be difficult to do and unlikely to happen.

In terms of improvements, I really wish they'd get rid of that awful funfair. On my last visit, it did look as though there were less rides but I wish they'd bulldoze the rest of it. It's old, tacky and generally horrible and I can't believe it brings in any significant income!
 
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Angel said:
In terms of improvements, I really wish they'd get rid of that awful funfair. On my last visit, it did look as though there were less rides but I wish they'd bulldoze the rest of it. It's old, tacky and generally horrible and I can't believe it brings in any significant income!
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I agree, it is an eyesore and takes up a significant portion of flat land which is a novelty itself at Dudley. God knows what the geladas make of it since their house backs on to the monstrosity!
Just think of what Dudley could house on that land, quite a large area could be given over to a decent enclosure for another drawcard species! :)
 
Angel said:
As far as I know, the females have lived together for a number of years and are a tight-knit group so I don't think it would be feasible to introduce a male. I think I'm right in saying that their ages range from around 20 to 40+ which may put some or all of them over breeding age. I think re-locating the existing chimps and bringing in a new breeding group would be difficult to do and unlikely to happen.
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Agree with all of that and why nothing much is likely to change. The females all came from London together and have been together many years, both there and at Dudley. Probably the only way to do it would be to add a group of males that are already bonded and would then be able to counterbalance/dominate the females. They would probably murder a single one now.
 
Angel said:
In terms of improvements, I really wish they'd get rid of that awful funfair. On my last visit, it did look as though there were less rides but I wish they'd bulldoze the rest of it. It's old, tacky and generally horrible and I can't believe it brings in any significant income!
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I wholeheartedly agree! Regarding your final point, I have never once seen it actually in operation, so I would indeed be surprised if it brought in any real income.
 
I had a mischievous thought this morning.
If the management of Dudley had the means and the motivation, there might be an opportunity for them to take a leaf from Blackpool's book and ask if Chester would board their orangs in the old Ape House (before anything drastic happens to it) and then take a wrecking ball to the Dudley orang house and building something bigger and better on that site (perhaps using the end of the peccary paddock too). It might be the best thing that could happen for Dudley's orangs.

Alan
 
Male Lion, Jetpur left Mulhouse this morning. He should arrive sometime tomorrow
 
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