Dudley Zoo wins three prizes in national awards
It is one of the Black Country's favourite venues – visited by tens of thousands of people every year.
And Dudley Zoo has now been honoured at a ceremony celebrating the best of British and Irish zoos and aquariums.
The zoo netted a trio of gongs at the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums awards – which celebrate outstanding achievements in the zoological world.
Its £20,000 'baboons on the bank' exhibit, which provides a natural hillside home for the zoo's breeding group of gelada baboons, was awarded a silver award at the ceremony
Meanwhile the zoo's photographer Jason Skarratt was awarded two runner-up prizes in the photography competition.
Zoo director Derek Grove said: “We are delighted to have been awarded three accolades by British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, especially in our 80th anniversary year.
“This proves Dudley Zoological Gardens is one of the country’s leading zoos and we’re proud our contributions towards conservation and animal welfare have been recognised by experts from within the zoo community.”
The one-acre enclosure – which was wholly funded by zoo coffers and opened by TV presenter and conservationist Bill Oddie in 2014 – provides an exact replica of the gelada’s wild habitat.
Zoo bosses said its vertical rocky landscape and rich grassland bank ideally suit the primates’ feeding posture and shuffle gait movement whilst browsing.
Since introducing the species to the new enclosure, the venue has also welcomed three babies – Billie, Ambo and Gimbi – who enjoy barrelling down the hill together.
Photographer Jason was honoured for two photos – one of orangutan Sprout being showered with bubbles on her birthday and another of zoo staff caring for newborn snow leopard Milo after his mother's sudden death.
The photo of the Bornean orangutan was captured on her fifth birthday.
Sprout had never seen bubbles before and couldn’t quite believe her eyes as the colourful soapy suds floated towards her.
Zoo chiefs said the previously unpublished photo of staff looking after Milo shows how its dedicated keepers go above and beyond for the sake of the animals.
Dr Kirsten Pullen, chief executive officer of BIAZA, said, “Our community is committed to conservation, education, research, and having the highest levels of animal welfare and this is highlighted by the incredibly high standard of award submissions this year.
"I am delighted Dudley Zoological Gardens achieved a silver award for 'baboons on the bank' and two runner-up awards for Jason Skarratt’s photographs.”
The annual BIAZA awards recognise outstanding contributions in the fields of animal breeding, care and welfare; conservation; education; exhibits; horticulture; PR, marketing, digital and events; research; and sustainability.
