Dudley Zoological Gardens Dudley Zoological Gardens in 2014

lamna said:
Strange, I definitely saw one three weeks ago. Maybe that was the male?
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Or perhaps she's been there a few weeks but the Zoo was waiting until she'd settled in before announcing her arrival. I've noticed that births are often not announced straight away.
 
IanRRobinson said:
What will it be used for when work is finished?
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No idea. Nothing has been said officially about what species will occupy it once it is fully restored.

I think it was zoogiraffe who said there was just a rumour it could be wolves - but that was months ago now.

To be honest I expected the tecton to be finished (restoration-wise) by now, but with bad weather, the fact they are doing most of the work themselves and learning as they go- you cant really blame them.

You're probably talking Easter or Summer 2015 before any animals move in (whatever they may be).

If it is to be wolves, where do we think they will most likely come from?
 
Benosaurus said:
No idea. Nothing has been said officially about what species will occupy it once it is fully restored.

I think it was zoogiraffe who said there was just a rumour it could be wolves - but that was months ago now.

To be honest I expected the tecton to be finished (restoration-wise) by now, but with bad weather, the fact they are doing most of the work themselves and learning as they go- you cant really blame them.

You're probably talking Easter or Summer 2015 before any animals move in (whatever they may be).

If it is to be wolves, where do we think they will most likely come from?
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It was me that said Wolves,but not heard anything about that since,but if they did go for Wolves there are plenty surplus in Europe that they could get,so if they went down that route they could get Timber,European,Iberian or even Artic"cough"
 
I believe that bears will be returning to the bear ravine: Brown Bears to be more precise.
 
Perhaps bears and wolves even ?? In any case very good to hear bears may be coming back to the ravine ?
 
robmv said:
I believe that bears will be returning to the bear ravine: Brown Bears to be more precise.
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Dearest robmv, what or whom gave you that conviction? Some inside info???

I myself would love to see a tropical bear species ilke sun bear! :)
Perhaps even an in situ link to Malaysian Borneo or Cambodia??!
 
Given that the whole idea is to restore it back to its former glory of the 1930s, I wonder if they are obligated to only house the original species it was designed and built for (BROWN bear ravine being its proper name).

Maybe its grade ll listed building status also has something to do with it. Has the ravine held anything other than brown bears since it was first listed in 1970?
 
I would love to see a small breeding group of Asiatic Black Bears in the Ravine or even Grizzly Bears but I know this is just a dream.

Do any of you have any idea if the following are currently on display and if so there location within the zoo as I have not been to the zoo lately and have a Xmas visit booked with my grandchildren so would love to see these species.

Argentine Horned frog (could this be the new name for the Ornate Horned Frog)
Boney head toad
Chinese Water Dragon
Domestic ferret
Gambian giant pouched rat
Himalayan monal pheasant
Honduran Milkshake
Iberian ribbed newt
Lesser hedgehog tenrec
North American mastigure
Paulson’s Pacific boa
Prehensile Tailed skink
San Francisco gatersnake
Sinaloan milkshake
Spotted toad
Vieled chameleon

This list was taken from the Zootierliste so any help would be very much appreciated

Happy xmas everyone and a happy new year to all
 
Benosaurus said:
Given that the whole idea is to restore it back to its former glory of the 1930s, I wonder if they are obligated to only house the original species it was designed and built for (BROWN bear ravine being its proper name).

Maybe its grade ll listed building status also has something to do with it. Has the ravine held anything other than brown bears since it was first listed in 1970?
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I seriously doubt they are obligated to keep a specific species in an enclosure, or nothing at all. They'd be in trouble for putting Inca in the old Polar Bear exhibit if they were.

I wonder if the bear ravine will include the adjacent field, currently home to a guanaco, a goat and the rhea flock? If so, where will they go?

If it does it will be one of the largest flat areas in the zoo. I hope they do get some kind of bear, it would be a shame for them to go out of keeping them after Inca passes.

European browns would fit with the red squirrels nearby, but any sort would be nice.

A quick look on zootierliste shows they are the most popular bear in the UK. I believed that everyone had spectacled bears these days, but apparently it's just Chester, South Lakes, Belfast and Jersey. And they all over Europe, I'm sure Dudley could source some quite easily.

@adrian1963 Most of those animals will be found in the Discovery Centre, Reptile House and possible now in the Castle.

You'll have to ask in the cafe about milkshakes though.
 
To round up the news from last year the zoo had 290'000 visitors up from 265'000 from 2013.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
I myself would love to see a tropical bear species ilke sun bear! :)
Perhaps even an in situ link to Malaysian Borneo or Cambodia??!
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This is a very large area and I think scale-wise Sun Bears would look very tiny and out of place.

The original 'Bear Ravine' encompassed the large open field in the valley extending away from the Tecton building- which is really just a viewing terrace for the public, with (I presume) dens situated underneath. So I imagine if it was to house Bears again, one of the larger species would be chosen. Brown, as they had previously, is probably the most suitable for this enclosure.
 
From what I can tell from it's about 1300m², or 0.3 acres. It seems a little small for the bigger bears. If they expanded it up the bank at the back it would be better.
 
lamna said:
From what I can tell from it's about 1300m², or 0.3 acres. It seems a little small for the bigger bears. If they expanded it up the bank at the back it would be better.
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I don't know how this open area is laid out or divided up these days, but originally the Bears had a long large area that was more like an Acre or more in size if memory serves correct. It did not include the wooded bank which would be nice for Bears too.
 
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