Former Dudley Zoo bird house to be given new lease of life after 30 years - housing South American creatures
An iconic former tropical bird house is being reopened at Dudley Zoo after more than 30 years with a South American flavour.
The new exhibit in the Grade II Listed building coincides with the 80th anniversary, which the zoo is celebrating this year.
The £50,000 enclosure is set to be unveiled on the zoo's actual anniversary, May 6, the day the zoo opened to the public in 1937.
The former bird house will be an indoor exhibit for a variety of South American creatures, including large hairy armadillos, sloths, marmosets and tamarins.
A £345,000 redevelopment of several enclosures and various celebratory events will take place over the forthcoming year.
Zoo director Derek Grove, said: "What better in our 80th year than bringing an original Tecton back into use?
"The Grade II listed circular building, with its cantilevered balcony, has been out of use inside for over seven years, having last been used as a children's discovery area and has been closed as a tropical bird house for over 30 years.
"It's no longer practical to display tropical birds within this building so we're really excited with these plans which will provide another all-weather animal exhibit and will see a range of new species to boost the ever-growing collection at DZG."
Other redevelopments include extending homes for their critically-endangered yellow-breasted capuchins, snow leopards, parrots, military macaws and cockatoos, as well as building a larger farm barn and a breeding facility for rainbow lorikeets.
The first stage of the work, expected to be completed in time for the Easter holidays, includes a massive £90,000 revamp of the popular farmyard, as well as a £20,000 rebuild of the outdoor area for the capuchins in the small primate house.
Mr Grove said: "The projects chosen to complete in 2017 were all mostly built over 30 years ago and are now in need of modernisation.
"The new exhibits will not only be built for purpose, but will provide additional space for the animals as well as improving the experience for our visitors."
"We had a super 2016 but 2017 is going to be fantastic and we hope people will join with our celebrations."
