Member of the Week, Dudley Zoological Gardens, Celebrate 80th Anniversary

Black Country Chamber of Commerce are celebrating Dudley Zoological Gardens as their Member of the Week with the renowned tourist attraction currently celebrating their 80^th Anniversary.

To mark this special milestone, Dudley Zoo will be holding their annual charity walk, Take A Walk On The Wild Side, which this year will be taking place on 6^th May and raising money for their orangutan enclosure. In addition, there will also be celebrations at a post-walk party on the castle courtyard during the afternoon, with retro singers and birthday cake, as well as a display of archive photographs and memories from visitors.

As well as the aforementioned charity walk and party, the zoo will be running a series of celebratory events taking place throughout 2017, including castle talks and tours, as well as paranormal nights.

Furthermore, Dudley Zoo will be redeveloping several enclosures throughout the year, with the recent redevelopment of the capuchin having being completed, whilst work on their lynx and farm enclosures is now also underway.

Derek Grove, Zoo Director at Dudley Zoological Gardens, commented: “Everyone at Dudley Zoo is immensely proud to be celebrating our 80^th Anniversary! Since 1937, we have welcomed millions of visitors from across the world to our unique site to visit our animals and 11^th Century castle, helping to ensure that we play a vital part in the cultural heritage of the Black Country.

“Moving forwards, we are looking to build upon the resounding success of last year, which saw us welcome more than 310,000 visitors. With the redevelopments that we have planned across the site, as well as the range of celebratory events that we have taking place, our 80^th year is set to be one to remember!”

Opening in May 1937, Dudley Zoo is constructed over 40 acres within a 200-acre densely wooded site, which also includes an 11^th Century castle. In addition, the zoo is home to more than 200 species, including Asiatic lions, Sumatran tigers, Rothschild giraffes, Bornean orangutans, and Madagascan lemurs.