Dudley zoo new £150,000 lion enclosure had to be closely monitored by english heritage to make sure the former tropical birdhouse is not affected in any way. The tropical birdhouse was untouched & unaffected. If the zoo has to do all that for a building they do not touch you can see the problems they face with the bear pits..A long expensive problems lies ahead for the zoo
Superfurry,
The inside is solid thick concrete, and I'm sure the preservation order on this nasty place won't allow anything to be done to it, also it's a big area so the cost of caging it off would be very expensive.
I'm trying to talk to the director of the zoo and will ask him what can / will be done to this pit.
They'd probably be best off to furnish it and let the tigers and bears use it at alternate times (as well as their respective enclosures. That way it still gets used, the animals get some enrichment with the extra environment and it won't cost the zoo much, if anything.
Sad thing is it is listed and very hard to get none listed :S would be great to see this with animals inside. Very quick question how did you get a photo of it since it is gated?
Hi Pertinax,
Can you tell me why you don't think the two end pits are not suitable for the animals in them (tigers and Asiatic bears), as you said they are of a fair size and have some cover from trees.
they are okay for the animals, reasonable size et but the bad thing is you have to look down on them, unless they are using the hillside areas, so the impression is still one of 'pits' which is a rather outdated concept. A long time ago they kept Lions in one side(and tigers in the other) but have moved away from that a long while ago.
Sad thing is it is listed and very hard to get none listed :S would be great to see this with animals inside. Very quick question how did you get a photo of it since it is gated?
They'd probably be best off to furnish it and let the tigers and bears use it at alternate times (as well as their respective enclosures. That way it still gets used, the animals get some enrichment with the extra environment and it won't cost the zoo much, if anything.
I don't know that it connects with either of the enclosures at the sides, but access could probably be made- with planning permission.
The main problem with some of these quite logical solutions- such as dividing the enclosure or putting a roof over it, is that they are probably directly in contravention of their listed status and therefore unnacceptable in planning terms. The buildings must probably be retained in their existing form without major alteration- that's how I imagine it to be anyhow.
Large concrete containers could be lowered in for planting trees in. Glasgow zoo created a lush habitat for ocelot out of their former polar bear pit. Huge concrete cyliners were laid upright for planting, mostly in the pool. I think some young tall pines or similar evergreens would look stunning for a large group of coati, or possibly some hardy tropical species of tree for a group of binturong. Upright poles could follow the curved path as it rises along the back of the pit. I think with such dramatic architecture you don't actually need dramatic inhabitants if the finish on the enclosure is visually striking.
