Dudley Zoological Gardens Dudley Zoological Gardens in 2019

FunkyGibbon said:
I don't know this, but I would suggest that the likelihood of Dudley not having exhibited any wild-caught animals in, say, the past decade are very small.
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Really? Which ones do you have in mind?

The only one I can think of is the chimpanzee 'Fanny', who was born somewhere around 1974 and assumed as wild caught. She came to DZG in June 1998 from London zoo, who acquired her in 1980, although I'm not sure of her exact circumstances prior to that.
 
Benosaurus said:
Really? Which ones do you have in mind?
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None in particular, although perhaps the reptile house would be the place to start.

My point is just that zoos still exhibit animals that are recently wild-caught, and given that Dudley has no policy of not doing this it seems likely that examples could be found.

I'm happy to be proven wrong in the specific case, but I think my above statements are reasonable and accurate.
 
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...and zoos must be careful not to be backed into a corner on this point. Yes, animals will sometimes come directly from the wild, and, when they do (for a plethora of reasons) there is nothing intrinsically wrong with this. Sometimes it is the right thing to happen!

Regarding the anti-zoo protests - in my experience these tend to be raggedy little groups which have no negative impact on visitation and, if anything, make the ‘normal’ visitors a bit cross and a bit more likely to support the zoo they are visiting, out of a desire not to be told what to think or do.....
 
A trio of birds have joined the DZG's birds of prey display team. Buzz the Asian brown wood owl, Hannibal the Eurasian Eagle owl and Attila the Steppe Eagle have transferred from Colchester Zoo.

A couple of items from facebook that haven't appeared on the Zoo's website - twin Patagonian maras were born to first-time mum Lulu and dad Barry on March 30 and three Barbary lambs have been born.
 
A female coppery titi monkey has joined DZG from La Vallée des Singes iin France and been paired with their resident male. A tell-tail sign! - Dudley Zoological Gardens The pair are currently in the indoor lynx enclosure (the lynx have moved out!) together with a pair of Goeldi monkeys. A new enclosure is going to be built for them where the tortoises are currently.

A critically endangered male Bali Mynah has also joined the collection and the Zoo hopes to obtain a female for him soon.Funds soar for Asian songbirds in crisis - Dudley Zoological Gardens
 
A new exhibit for a colony of ~3000 leaf cutter ants has been constructed in the chimp indoor viewing area.

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An excell-ant new arrival! - Dudley Zoological Gardens
 
This was taken in 1960 from you tube I would love to know which species are on the film and in which exhibits they are please?





from 1952 -


early 70's -


from 1976 -

 
AdrianW1963 said:
This was taken in 1960 from you tube I would love to know which species are on the film and in which exhibits they are please?"
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Here's my best effort in answer to your question.

In the 1960s films, the tigers (possibly advertised as Bengal at that time) were in the tecton currently occupied by the Sulawesi crested macaques; the polar bears were in the middle tecton most recently occupied by Inca the Asiatic black bear and the lions (probably African) were in the tecton where the Sumatran tigers are now housed. The leopards were in the big cat cages between the current tiger viewing area and the Carpathian lynx enclosure (now indoor dens for the tigers). The monkeys in the 1960s films are possibly Rhesus monkeys - from the netting I'd say they could have been in one of the small primate houses. The bison were held in what is now the white-lipped peccary enclosure (although later were housed in the paddock beneath the tropical house where the Asiatic lions are now). The brown bears were in bear ravine and I think the dingoes were towards the end of the zoo where the Farmyard is now. As far as I can tell, the sealions were in one of the moat pools and the chimps, gorillas and orangs were in what is now the enclosure for the orangs. On one of the films, it shows chimps in a cage enclosure but I have no idea where that would be. I enjoyed seeing the miniature train - brought back many happy memories.

In the fourth film, I think one of the opening shots is of Arabian gazelle which were housed in what is now the wallaby enclosure opposite the giant anteaters. Nice to catch a glimpse of the entrance to the aquarium towards the end of the film.

In the 1976 film, the flamingoes, tapir and Barbary sheep are in their current enclosures. I think the peccaries may have been next to the Barbary sheep in the enclosure that has recently been occupied by tortoises. I think the zebra were in what is now the reindeer paddock and the Ankole cattle were probably in what is now the peccary enclosure. The (marmots?) are in the enclosure outside the reptile house where the meerkats now live. The domestic animals were obviously in the farmyard but I can't make out whether that was the old pet's corner (subsequently a sensory garden and now Ow Bin Ya Sands) or the current farmyard.

Hope this helps.
 
Angel said:
Here's my best effort in answer to your question.

In the 1960s films, the tigers (possibly advertised as Bengal at that time) were in the tecton currently occupied by the Sulawesi crested macaques; the polar bears were in the middle tecton most recently occupied by Inca the Asiatic black bear and the lions (probably African) were in the tecton where the Sumatran tigers are now housed. The leopards were in the big cat cages between the current tiger viewing area and the Carpathian lynx enclosure (now indoor dens for the tigers). The monkeys in the 1960s films are possibly Rhesus monkeys - from the netting I'd say they could have been in one of the small primate houses. The bison were held in what is now the white-lipped peccary enclosure (although later were housed in the paddock beneath the tropical house where the Asiatic lions are now). The brown bears were in bear ravine and I think the dingoes were towards the end of the zoo where the Farmyard is now. As far as I can tell, the sealions were in one of the moat pools and the chimps, gorillas and orangs were in what is now the enclosure for the orangs. On one of the films, it shows chimps in a cage enclosure but I have no idea where that would be. I enjoyed seeing the miniature train - brought back many happy memories.

In the fourth film, I think one of the opening shots is of Arabian gazelle which were housed in what is now the wallaby enclosure opposite the giant anteaters. Nice to catch a glimpse of the entrance to the aquarium towards the end of the film.

In the 1976 film, the flamingoes, tapir and Barbary sheep are in their current enclosures. I think the peccaries may have been next to the Barbary sheep in the enclosure that has recently been occupied by tortoises. I think the zebra were in what is now the reindeer paddock and the Ankole cattle were probably in what is now the peccary enclosure. The (marmots?) are in the enclosure outside the reptile house where the meerkats now live. The domestic animals were obviously in the farmyard but I can't make out whether that was the old pet's corner (subsequently a sensory garden and now Ow Bin Ya Sands) or the current farmyard.

Hope this helps.
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many thanks for taking the time for the lists
 
I have been told the Chimps in the early film were in the Bear ravine under the viewing area as they were there while an exhibit was being constructed for them but they stayed for a lot longer.
 
Visited the zoo again today while the weather was mostly cloudy but dry throughout Dudley. Had an alright little visit but just thought I'd point out a few little notices as always.

  • Some of the vegetation inside Inca's old enclosure has been starting to grow pretty fast. Does anyone know so far as to what the zoo are planning to do with this enclosure? I know it's not really a suitable enclosure as such for any type of bear but I'd hate to just see this enclosure become left to rot again as it did after the Polar bears left some thirty or twenty years ago.

  • I only managed to see only one Capybara inside the South American mixed paddock today, do the zoo still have more of them about, and if not are more of them due to arrive soon if possible?

  • The not-so perfect Binturong enclosure also seems to have taken a liking with the added plantation that I noticed when I came around to their exhibit.

  • From what I have seen today, there seems to be only one Western grey kangaroo remaining inside the paddock opposite the Barbary sheep. A few of the red-necked wallabies seem to have also been added inside to keep the old roo company. Does anyone know if one of the two Kangaroos has died? And if so, what will happen to the ex-cassowary enclosure once the remaining male eventually passes on? Also managed to see only one of the two Giant anteaters and only one of the Red ruffed lemurs.

  • Now, I do know that DZG had recently bought in some new Titi monkeys which were originally going to be moved to a new exhibit over at the African spurred tortoise enclosure. So far from what I have seen, no work on any exhibit as such has started so far which has led to me not seeing a single glimpse of either the Titi or the Goeldi's monkeys today. What is going on here?

  • The small aviary located just between the Orangutans and Peccaries now currently houses Black-headed weavers, Speckled mousebirds and also a few of the zoo's Crested partridges.

  • Looking at the farmyard the micro-pig pen seems to have now been extended towards the main paddock housing the goats, etc. Also I think it is now safe to say that there are no longer any Alpacas being housed on the zoo grounds. Last time I checked there was only the brown one (Crunchie?) left in the paddock around the corner what has now become an extension to the Bactrian camel enclosure, which leads me to believe that their last male Alpaca probably had to be PTS at somepoint during last year.

  • And speaking of Camelids, I also haven't managed to see the elderly Guanaco in the current Bear ravine paddock. Won't be too long now until he too is also gone from the collection.
 
Linne's two toed sloth new from Amazon World currently in the old indoor exhibit for the Lynx both the Red Titi and Geoldi's Monkey are now off show to allow the Sloth to settle in.
 
Animallover1998 said:
  • And speaking of Camelids, I also haven't managed to see the elderly Guanaco in the current Bear ravine paddock. Won't be too long now until he too is also gone from the collection.
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He was there two weeks ago, be a shame if he has gone since then
 
Inca's (recently deceased Asiatic black bear) body was sent to the Department of Natural Sciences at the National Museums Scotland to be preserved for the purpose of research into the welfare, health and conservation of captive and wild bears.

Her skin and skeleton have been conserved, and a sample of muscle tissue has been added to a UK network of zoological biobanks. This means scientists will be able to extract DNA samples as well as study pathogens.

Her larynx has been retained and loaned to Vienna University, Austria, to be part of a long-established study looking into the variety and workings of various mammalian larynges.

She will also be included in a new research project looking at the evolution of the teeth, jaws and digestive system in carnivorous mammals. Her skeleton will feature in a research project on skeletal diseases in captive mammals.
https://www.dudleyzoo.org.uk/an-incredible-ambassador/


Freshwater vampire crabs, a new species for DZG, have joined the collection. They are in the water surrounding the leaf-cutter ant feeding station in the chimpanzee indoor viewing area.
Transparent tube travelling - Dudley Zoological Gardens
 
The visitor numbers for 2018 have been released. I have added them to the info I have of total visitor numbers in previous years...

2006: ~ 165,000
2007: ?
2008: ?
2009: ~ 200,000
2010: ~ 200,000
2011: ~ 200,000
2012: 225,429
2013: 264,029 (+ 17.1%)
2014: 290,187 (+ 9.9%)
2015: 279,599 (- 3.6%)
2016: 310,672 (+ 11.1%)
2017: 302,534 (- 2.6%)
2018: 296,910 (- 1.9%)


In terms of visitor numbers, the zoo had an excellent start to 2018. In just the first two months of the year they welcomed 78% more visitors compared to the same period in 2017. In 2018, they also had the highest visitor numbers in Feb half-term week on record (which has since been surpassed again in 2019) and the May Day bank holiday weekend attracted the highest visitor numbers for more than 20 years. Things were looking promising and the zoo had even budgeted to achieve 315,000 visitors by the end of the year.

However, as you can see, despite a brilliant start, they did not manage to achieve this. This was predictable after the zoo announced to the public, on 30th November, that one of their snow leopards had escaped through keeper error and sadly the zoo was forced to euthanise it - possibly the worst PR any zoo could ask for.

Unfortunately, even if people were upset at the zoo or not, the public tend to stay away from turbulence and visitor numbers in December must have been minimal. It could be viewed that the fact the zoo's normally extremely popular Santa's Grotto achieved approximately £10,000 less income in 2018 is some evidence for this.

On the plus side, the zoo did achieve a higher overall total income in 2018 than in 2017, despite visitor numbers not being as high.

Going back to the snow leopard incident, the zoo had a full zoo inspection carried out by the zoo's licencing authority, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, in February 2019.

The inspectors noted:
'Concerning the escape of the snow leopard into the zoo on 23/10/2018 the inspectors were shown a detailed report of the incident, made a thorough examination of the house, enclosure and the improvements to the security arrangements were demonstrated. The inspectors agree with the management that the escape protocols in place at the time worked efficiently and that a detailed report of the incident occurred. Whilst the risk of human error can never be totally eliminated, the new electronic warning system should further reduce these risks. As there is no "off the shelf" system available, management and staff are to be congratulated for developing this in house system, which after fine tuning, is planned to be installed in other houses of Category 1 animals. Its uptake may well be considered in other zoological collections.'

(Info gathered from annual Group of companies' accounts document)
 
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