Dudley Zoological Gardens Dudley Zoo News 2022

[pangolin12]

From the photos that I have seen on here of the Wolverine enclosure, I must admit it is probably the most impressive UK zoo enclosure for this species I have seen.

Have you seen Highlands and Wild place? They are world class wolverine enclosures imo and would take some beating, but I agree that Dudley’s enclosure looks very nice and it is nice to see Dudley keep the species

 

[Benosaurus]

I heard mention on here that a new enclosure would be built down at the bottom of the zoo for African wild dogs (I honestly don't know how that's going to work, I hope they don't remove the camels, farmyard, lorikeets or the chimp exhibits for those as I think it would be a massive let-down to long-time visitors such as myself)

I don't think you need to worry about the camel or lorikeet exhibits being removed, and the farmyard is too small an area for an African wild dog exhibit. I think it would be a mistake for the zoo to downsize the chimp outdoor area as it is one of the zoo's most impressive, and futureproof, exhibits and one of the best chimp outdoor areas in the UK, however for a long time now it has been apparent that the chimps are being phased out, so who knows. I think the most likely place the wild dogs will go at the bottom of the zoo is the bear ravine if perhaps they have been unable to source the brown bears they were hoping for (although I've always thought that a much smaller bear species should be their aim for the bear ravine).

-From the photos that I have seen on here of the Wolverine enclosure, I must admit it is probably the most impressive UK zoo enclosure for this species I have seen.

Dudley's new enclosure is very good, but Highland, Whipsnade, and Wild Place are leagues ahead. Personally I'd put Dudley's just ahead of Cotswold and Exmoor.

-On the topic of Joao and Daseep... I'm going to presume they'd have to be kept separate for now (especially if Daseep is either unwell or pregnant). Whatever the result is I hope it is just the latter. Fingers crossed....

Since my visit I have seen Daseep and Joao outdoors together via the webcam, but yes it does appear from several visitor's observations that she may be receiving some one-to-one attention at the moment.

-I've always found Red pandas to be bit of a tricky species to spot in Dudley Zoo, not saying the enclosure is bad but if you're coming on a bright day and can't see them on the bottom section by the giraffe, then looking up for them in the trees is going to be especially tricky (unless you can get a good-working camera to see them).

What I was saying is that the red pandas weren't in their normal enclosure. They were in an entirely different enclosure, previously used for lemurs, behind the old Discovery Centre.

-I wonder if... with the Giraffe enclosure, are they just creating a little extension to their paddock to go around the back or are they planning to redevelop that housing area? Just thinking about how this will turn out....

All we know about the giraffe project is what they announced at the beginning of the year; "The unused land at the rear of the house will be transformed into a second paddock and the two outdoor areas will be linked via the current house, which will be repurposed to allow the giraffes full access to the space. A new visitor walkway and viewing area will be created along the outside of the building".

-Once the baby Anteater gets older, are they going to be able to keep it with its parents or is Gizmo going to have to be transferred to another collection for breeding purposes?

I think it's likely that Gizmo will leave Dudley not long after she becomes fully independent.

 

[TNT]

Dudley's new enclosure is very good, but Highland, Whipsnade, and Wild Place are leagues ahead. Personally I'd put Dudley's just ahead of Cotswold and Exmoor.

I think we're very luck that there isn't a single poor wolverine exhibit in the country, all are great in their own way!

 

[Benosaurus]

The male baby Bornean orangutan, born on the 25th of June, has been named 'Jim' (Jazz x Djimat).

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[Pertinax]

The male baby Bornean orangutan, born on the 25th of June, has been named 'Jim' (Jazz x Djimat).

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That is quite a suitable name IMO. Better than 'Sprout'... they've reverted to mixing the parents' names, as his mother Jaz is also named from her parents -Joe x Azimat.

 

[amanda224]

I visited on Monday (my first visit for over a year so I'm not sure how recent some of the changes I observed are).


Weather: 30°C, light breeze.

Arrival time: 10.00 am


Outside the zoo
- Construction of the new Institute of Technology and the new metro station, both located adjacent to the zoo's car park, has progressed a long way since my last visit. There was still work going on but it can’t be long until they’re complete.

- The abandoned hippodrome, which is also located adjacent to the zoo's car park, remains undemolished for now.

Inside the zoo
- We entered the zoo via the usual gift shop entrance (the first time since early 2020 I think).

- The gelada family group were in the hillside enclosure on the right-hand side of the chairlift. The grass in there looked quite sparse, so I wouldn't be surprised if they are rotated into the Sulawesi macaque enclosure, to the left of the chairlift, fairly soon.

- The bachelor gelada enclosure has had some new climbing structures and shelters installed, with most of the old climbing structure, which was built when the smaller original enclosure was constructed, removed. Looks much better, like it was designed for them.

- The snowy owl aviary has been demolished and a new one of similar size is being constructed in its place.

- Saw two kookaburras perched right at the front of their aviary.

- I saw the six-banded armadillos for the first time.

- Saw the new wolverine enclosure for the first time. I thought it looked superb. Definitely not your typical UK wolverine enclosure, but it's packed full of interest for the animal (rocks, pool, grass, dirt, shrubs, trees, shelters, steep terrain, plenty of climbing opportunities, and various enrichment items) and really makes use of its volume. That spindly old climbing frame with its many wooden ladders is gone and, in its place, a much bigger, chunkier and far more impressive one can now be found. It appears to have been constructed with the same thought, expertise and care that went into building the huge new climbing structures for the new orang enclosure.
I was pleased to see the wolverine itself too – a new species for me. Such a cool species to watch, the way it lollops around at speed over any terrain, but in complete silence, and then vanishes into the undergrowth. Didn’t see it for more than a few minutes but very glad I did.

- Only saw one Arctic fox. Would aardvark work well in that enclosure?

- Only saw the male Sumatran tiger (Joao). I wonder if he and the female (Daseep) are being kept separate for some reason.

- Saw all three bush dogs in their usual enclosure by the tigers.

- Couldn’t see either red panda in their enclosure by the giraffes. However, much further on in the visit we saw two red pandas in the large enclosure at the far end of the row of small primate enclosures behind the old discovery centre. There was proper signage for them and there appeared to be new climbing structures in there too. No idea what’s going on there.

- No changes to the giraffe house or paddock. However, I did spot a cement mixer and a few construction materials behind the house.

- Some keepers were busy doing some work on the climbing structures in the binturong enclosure. I saw one binturong in the on-show portion of the indoor area, but no sign of the civet which I’ve still never seen despite it being at the zoo for over 2 years now. Definitely my ‘bogey-animal’; it makes Bart seem relatively outdoorsy!

- I saw all 3 giant anteaters indoors (I could just about see the male in the dens at the rear of the house. I think he is being kept separate from the other two for the time being). The baby is still very cute despite it being around 6 months old now.

- The cassowary was keeping cool in the shade at the back right of the secondary paddock (he had access to both paddocks).

- Some of aviaries to the right of the cassowary exhibit have been demolished and some new similar ones have been built in their place.

- The sloths were all indoors. Sadly I didn’t manage to see the baby.

- There were no changes to large aviary next to the otters.

- On previous visits the macaw aviary has always been very difficult to see into thanks to the very tight, shiny mesh. However, they’ve since painted the mesh on the front panels black and it has made a massive difference; I think it’s problem pretty much solved. The new flock of sun conures looked great in there too.

- Of course the orangs were the thing I was most looking forward to on my visit. Since I last visited there’s been the arrival of the new adult male (Djimat), the opening of the new outdoor enclosure, and the birth of a baby orang. The new outdoor enclosure is mightily impressive: large area, soft grass floor, good viewing for the visitors, great views for the apes, and a huge intricate climbing structure – no bare concrete trees or single firehoses strung between vertical telegraph poles to be seen here. The wellbeing of the orangs must have skyrocketed. On my visit Benji was in the new outdoor area, sitting in the shade on the grass with his trusty red bread crate by his side. The other four had access to the old outdoor areas. Djimat and Sprout were lounging around outside in the shade. There were lots of professional photographers about, but Jazz and baby were keeping out of the heat and out of sight throughout.
Visiting the orangs this time felt like such a different experience than what I’ve always been used to. No shoulder-sagging moment, just a feeling of being very pleased for the zoo and what they’ve accomplished, and for the orangs themselves. There’s still a bit to do for the orang facilities, but with the completion of the new outdoor area the largest hurdle has been cleared and the orangs have suddenly become a real centrepiece for the zoo.

- I saw the new green aracari for the first time, a new species for me. I never knew how small they are. The young scarlet ibis have now matured and are looking scarlet.

- Counted only 4 Humboldt penguins. I thought there’d be signage explaining what had happened but I couldn't see any. I then thought that no explanatory sign is probably for the best as it might otherwise bring a massive downer on lots of visitor’s days out.

- I didn’t see the giant Asian pond turtle in the reptile house, although there was signage there for it. The zoo really needs to do something about improving the awful amateurish camouflage paint scheme that can be seen in several of the reptile house’s exhibits.

- I saw both the male and female black howler monkeys in the new exhibit by the chimp outdoor viewing area. Seems to suit them well.

- I saw the baby naked mole rats in their exhibit in the chimp indoor viewing area. Weird yet strangely cute. One of them had ventured off into a different chamber and was trying to gnaw on some courgette. The chimp indoor viewing area usually has an exhibit containing vampire crabs, but they were no longer there. It looks like the zoo have had problems with the leaf cutter ants again; the colony was confined to the vivarium containing the nest, where their food had been placed, as all the tubes had been disconnected. This is fine, but why oh why have they just left thousands of dead ants to lie in the tubes – not a great thing for visitors to see.

- The lorikeet walkthrough was a noisy flurry of feathers as usual. We were asked to sanitize our hands and walk through a tray of disinfectant before we went in. I saw all three Victoria crowned pigeons (one of which was on a nest). I could only see one rather elderly-looking white-throated monitor lizard in its usual exhibit. The Meller’s ducks were in the larger pool at the far end.

- One last thing, the exit barrier for the car park didn’t work when we put the token in, so we had to reverse and drive out through the entrance lane (thankfully the entrance barrier was permanently raised).

Overall, a very nice visit. There is so much that has improved about the zoo over the past few years and, largely thanks to the existence of the new orang enclosure, the whole feel of the zoo has improved immensely and best of all there’s more to come.


Pics are in the gallery.

i was told that they have brought a young female red panda in to mate with gawa in the new enclosure and yasmin is in the normal enclosure . Joao and daseep seem to be apart a few times a week now

 

[Themonkeyguy1]

i was told that they have brought a young female red panda in to mate with gawa in the new enclosure and yasmin is in the normal enclosure . Joao and daseep seem to be apart a few times a week now

The new female is from Blackpool.

 

[amanda224]

shes a cute little thing hope they get on ok

 

[JT]

On the 23rd of July, Sprout the orangutan gave birth. It will likely be a little while before an announcement due to how recently it’s been born and the zoo are trying to keep it quiet for now I believe. Jazz is currently carrying and feeding them both and Sprout has apparently shown little interest. Due to the situation, the main group are being kept in their old enclosure where they can be more easily monitored, while Benji has access to his old enclosure and the new enclosure.

 

[Gigit]

On the 23rd of July, Sprout the orangutan gave birth. It will likely be a little while before an announcement due to how recently it’s been born and the zoo are trying to keep it quiet for now I believe. Jazz is currently carrying and feeding them both and Sprout has apparently shown little interest. Due to the situation, the main group are being kept in their old enclosure where they can be more easily monitored, while Benji has access to his old enclosure and the new enclosure.

Not an ideal situation.

 

[Benosaurus]

Not an ideal situation.

I agree. I thought Sprout would've been on contraception (ideally before Djimat's arrival) so she could watch and learn from Jazz rearing Jim, but alas for whatever reason it hasn't turned out that way.

Edit: Of course Sprout could well have been on contraception. These things aren't 100% effective and it's by no means the first time it has happened in orangs.

 

[JT]

Has a female ever been observed successfully raising 2 infants at once?

 

[MagpieGoose]

Has a female ever been observed successfully raising 2 infants at once?

There have been a couple of cases of this in both species of orang-utans currently held in captivity, an example off the top of my head is at Apenheul in 2005 with a female named 'Sandy' rearing her own offspring along with another unrelated females offspring.

 

[gentle lemur]

Obviously the zoo will keep a careful watch on the situation and if Jazz has difficulties they may have to intervene. I know that there have been quite a few cases where chimp and gorilla infants have been reared by foster mothers, but does anyone know whether this has happened with orangs?

 

[Benosaurus]

Confirmation from the zoo...

(Photos by Gary Pace)

Jazz to the rescue – Dudley Zoo and Castle

 

[Pertinax]

. Jazz is currently carrying and feeding them both and Sprout has apparently shown little interest.

I suspect this has happened more because Jazz is dominant over Sprout and with a strong maternal instinct has taken the baby over. Sprout may well have looked after it herself if her mother hadn't intervened- though of course I don't know the exact circumstances here.

 

[Pertinax]

I know that there have been quite a few cases where chimp and gorilla infants have been reared by foster mothers, but does anyone know whether this has happened with orangs?

There's certainly a couple of parallel incidents in gorillas- a female at Berlin reared same-aged 'twins'- one being hers and the other from a different female. Mjuku in ZSL appeared to co-parent Effie's son Gernot along with her own, and to carry both a lot of the time. I suspect its not that Sprout wasn't interested in the baby, but that her mother being dominant, has taken it over.

 

[Jambi]

Two weeks from now I'll be visiting Birmingham for an event, and I want to include a visit to Dudley Zoo during my trip. I have a few questions before I go:
- I'm guessing the new tram system that passes by the zoo won't be ready by the time I plan on visiting, so what would be the quickest way there from Tipton train station? Is it fine to walk or would it be better getting a bus or taxi?
- Roughly how much time would I need to get around the zoo and see anything? Would about three hours do it? I looked it up and learned that tge zoo is 19 acres smaller than my nearest large zoo, Safari Zoo Cumbria, which you can do two laps of in about three and a half hours. That being said, Dudley has more to see than that zoo does, so would about three hours be enough?
- Is there anything else I could do with knowing before I go? Any areas that are closed off, or any species that are currently off-show?

 

[Benosaurus]

I'm guessing the new tram system that passes by the zoo won't be ready by the time I plan on visiting

Correct

what would be the quickest way there from Tipton train station? Is it fine to walk or would it be better getting a bus or taxi?

Well it's either a 30 minute, 1.5 mile walk or a 10 minute bus ride (229 Diamond bus (I think), make sure you check for any route/time changes due to Commonwealth games), so it's up to you.

Roughly how much time would I need to get around the zoo and see anything? Would about three hours do it?

3 hours should be fine.

Is there anything else I could do with knowing before I go? Any areas that are closed off, or any species that are currently off-show?

Nothing closed or off-show that I know of.
The farm barn is open between 12.00pm – 12.45pm and 2.15pm – 4.30pm.
The birds of prey display is at 12.00pm in the castle courtyard.
See the zoo's website for talks times.

Due to the unusual layout, I'd highly recommend carefully planning your route around the zoo via the map beforehand, as it's very easy to accidently miss out on large chunks of the zoo.

I'd also recommend taking your own drinks and a packed lunch as the refreshments there are typically pricey.

Oh and have a read through this thread (from 2019) ...

Trip to Dudley Zoo and Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park - ZooChat

Enjoy your visit.

 

[Trudie]

Had a lovely few hrs here yesterday very happy to see both new orangutan babies was talking to a keeper who said sprout had just basically dropped the baby and had no interest so jazz took over and in the wild she would probably struggle to raise the two but because they are in captivity they can give extra food so she is able to look after them both. Both tigers were together the female was exciting to watch as she was in the water playing with watermelon lol and we saw the new red panda enclosure with 2 red panda in it all sign posted up etc the chairlift was open so was excited not to have to walk to the top lol