The African hunting dog is also known as the Painted Dog due to the patterned markings on its fur coat. They have very big ears which help to keep them cool and also enable them to hear very acutely; a very useful asset when the dogs are...
The African Pygmy Goat is a small domestic breed of goat that is alert and gregarious by nature. Pygmy goats tend to be more robust and breed more continually throughout the year than either dairy or meat goats, and despite their smaller size...
Alpacas are one of the camelid species of South America. There are four species of South American camelid: Llamas and Alpacas are domesticated and Vicuna (Vicugna vicugna) and Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) remain wild and are protected species....
The small eyes of the bear, along with its rounded ears, long snout, short tail, large body and shaggy hair, differentiate it from the other species of bears. Asiatic black bears also have a whitish V-shaped breast patch, not found in other...
The Bactrian camel native to the steppes of central Asia. It is presently restricted in the wild to remote regions of the Gobii and Taklamakan deserts of Mongolia where it is thought to number around 500 – 800...
Barbary Sheep (or Aoudad) are rock or mountain sheep native to North Africa and parts of the Sudan. They have short, bristly reddish brown coats and both males and females have a heavy fringe of hair on their throats. Both sexes have powerful...
At Dudley Zoo we have Brazilian or South American Tapirs which belong to one of four tapir species found around the world ; three in central and south America and one in Asia. Tapirs are a large browsing mammals which are closely related to...
Bush Dogs are said to be one of the most unusual looking dogs, as they resemble weasels or otters. This may be due to them having adapted to a semi-aquatic life style. They have webbed feet, short legs, a short bushy tail, a rounded...
The name Capybara means ‘master of the grasses’ in the language of the Guarani Indians.
Capybaras are the World’s largest rodent. They have a large barrel shaped body with a thick fur coat which ranges in colour from brown to...
Chinchillas are small rodents from the Andes mountains of south America. Their name literally means “little chincha” and they are named after the Chincha people of the Andes, who once wore the dense, velvet-like fur of these...
Ferrets are domesticated carnivorous mammals of the weasel family which probably derived from crosses of European and Steppe polecats. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur.
Ferrets were originally domesticated around 2,500...
Kangaroos are the largest marsupial mammals and are found only in Australia. The Western grey kangaroos are the largest species and they are very muscular and greyish-brown to reddish-brown in colour. Their muzzle is covered in fine hair....
The Guanaco is, along with its rare cousin the Vicuna, a wild member of the Camel family, which is found in South America. The camels originated and evolved in North America, and first appeared in the Eocene period 40-45 million years ago,...
Guinea Pigs are a domesticated species of rodent from the cavy family. Despite their name they are not pigs, nor do they come from Guinea. The species actually originated in the Andes where they were first domesticated as early 5000 BC....
Kune Kune is pronounced ‘Cooney Cooney’ and means fat and round in Maori. Kune Kune Pigs originate from New Zealand where it is thought that they were originally kept by the Maoris for meat. Thy would not have been kept in an...
The llama is the largest of the South American Camelids which was domesticated from the Guanaco some 5000 years ago. Their ancestors inhabited the plains of North America and migrated south to the Andes about three million years ago. It was ...
The meerkat or slender-tailed suricate is a member of the mongoose family native to Southern Africa
Meerkats live in large social groups of around 20 individuals (but can be 50 or more) and are known as a "mob", "gang" or...
At Dudley Zoo, we have Oriental short-clawed otters which are the smallest of the nine species of otter found around the world. Otters can range in size from the tiny Oriental Short-Clawed Otter to the Giant Otter of Amazonia which reaches 1.7...
Parma wallabies come from the forests of New South Wales, which is in the south east corner of Australia. They are sometimes known as white-throated wallabies
Wallabies are mainly nocturnal, coming out in the late afternoon to graze on the reedy...
Mara are large rodents which are closely related to the Guinea pig. They are also sometimes known as Patagonian cavies or Patagonian Hares.
Maras inhabit dry arid grassland and brushlands where they feed mainly on grass but will take any...
There are six living species of sea lion: namely Steller’s sea lion, Californian sea lion, Galapagos sea lion, South American or Patagonian sea lion, Australian sea lion and New Zealand sea lion.
Here at Dudley Zoo we have three South...
Despite their name, red pandas are more closely related to raccoons than to giant pandas. Due to their appearance they have been given many nicknames including Red Cat Bear and the Fire Fox.
Red pandas have long, soft reddish-brown fur on...
Red Squirrels are native to the UK and used to be a common species, although have now been driven out of many of their habitats by the very competitive Grey squirrel. They are larger then the Red Squirrel and out-compete because they can feed on a...
Red-necked Wallabies are one of the largest species of wallaby and are sometimes mistaken for kangaroos. They are distinguished from other species by their black nose and paws, white stripe on the upper lip, and grizzled medium grey coat with a...
Reindeer or Caribou? They are in fact the same animal; Reindeer is a European term and Caribou the North American name.
Reindeer pelt consists of a dense woolly undercoat and longer-haired overcoat consisting of hollow, air-filled...
At Dudley Zoo we have Baringo or Rothschild’s Giraffes from Uganda which are the rarest subspecies of giraffe in the world. They are named after the famous naturlais and museum founder, Lord Walter Rothschild. Theyare also known as the...
The South African or Cape porcupine is actually not restricted to the area suggested by its name but is found widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa.
These large nocturnal rodents inhabit rocky outcrops and hills where they can often be...
Peccaries are easily recognised by their pig-shaped bodies and long rooting snout. They are, however, not true pigs and have evolved separately. They resemble each other because they have similar habits.
White-lipped peccaries live in large...
The yellow mongoose or red suricate as it is also known is a small carnivore found in west and southern Africa.
It is an extremely sociable animal which lives in groups ranging from a breeding pair to extended family of up to 20 individuals. The...
