Dudley Zoo
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| Date opened | 1937 |
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| Location | Dudley, West Midlands, England |
| Coordinates | 52°30′50.18″N 2°4′37.68″W / 52.5139389°N 2.0771333°WCoordinates: 52°30′50.18″N 2°4′37.68″W / 52.5139389°N 2.0771333°W |
| Land area | 40 acres (16 ha) |
| No. of animals | 940 (2006) |
| No. of species | 163 (2006) |
| Major exhibits | Tigers, Chimpanzees, Lemur Wood |
| Website | www |
Dudley Zoological Gardens is a 40-acre (16 ha) zoo located within the grounds of Dudley Castle in the town of Dudley, in the Black Country region of the West Midlands, England. The Zoo opened to the public on 18 May 1937. Dudley Zoo is owned and operated by Dudley and West Midlands Zoological Society, founded in 1935 and a registered charity.
In 2003, in common with other urban zoos, Dudley parted with their two female African elephants so that they could benefit from more spacious surroundings. The remaining large animals include giraffes, tigers, lions, reindeer, wallabies, and three snow leopards, the latest being born in May 2013. Primates are well represented, and there are several aviaries and a reptile house. The zoo has over 1,000 animals from over 200 species; most of these are endangered and are the product of captive breeding programmes.
There was a time where the Dudley Zoo housed polar bears. It was once home to Cuddles, a male orca, or killer whale. He was housed at the zoo from 1971, until his death in February 1974. The dolphin and whale pools were modified seal and sea lions pools with the walls being built up to create more depth. However, these plans fell foul of the local planning laws and the zoo was ordered to return the pools to the original state. As the zoo was not prepared to invest in new purpose built pools the whale Cuddles was put up for sale, but died before being moved, from long-term gastro-intestinal problems. The pools were returned to their original design and now house sea lions.
The zoo is currently expanding its education department with a variety of workshops available for schools.
Big cats
Primates
The zoo buildings include twelve listed buildings, seven Grade II and five Grade II*, erected in 1937 by Berthold Lubetkin's Tecton Group which employed, among others, structural engineer Ove Arup. Most of the zoo buildings are art deco in style.
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Wikipedia