Staff are cracking open the bubbly after a hearty increase in visitor numbers.
Figures show a rise of 17 per cent on last years visitor numbers for the first seven months of the year 120,000 visitors in the period of January to July, compared with 103,000 for the same period in 2012.
DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDE:
Gelada baboons sited adjacent to chairlift bank (£20,000) opened August 2013
Construction of £30,000 walkway between Penguin Bay and Reptile House opened August 2013
Resurfacing / repairs to roadways across 40-acre site – Phase 1 £330,000 completed July 2013
New reindeer shed with viewing panel (£2,000) – opened July 2013
£7,000 refurbishment and extension to triple aviaries launched May 2013
Penguin Bay a £40,000 walkthrough experience with glass viewing panels at poolside, plus a beach opened May 2012 offering visitors a chance to get close to the site’s 70-strong group the UK’s largest colony of parent-reared rare Humboldt penguins
Reptile House opened April 2013 by TV wildlife presenter Mike Dilger following a £15,000 refurbishment programme which included new entrance, enclosures, walkways, signage and review of stock
£200,000 new offices opened January 2013, the 2,650 sq ft complex includes space for Administration, Finance, Research, Visitor Services and Marketing staff, plus a conference room and archive department
PLUS: Chairlift launched August 2012 – the country’s only vintage chairlift (1958) it was the first passenger-carrying aerial ropeway to be installed in England and transports visitors from the zoos lower zone to the 11th century Dudley Castle on the upper level, within a two-minute journey