The UK is, for the most part, lacking for good city zoos. London rather famously has the ZSL London Zoo, the oldest scientific zoo in the world, and there are excellent zoos in Edinburgh and Belfast as well, but that seems to be about it. However, unbeknownst to many, England's second city of Birmingham also has its own zoo, the Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park. It was opened in 1964 as an offshoot of the more famous Dudley Zoo to house a part of their collection, but closed in 1976, only to be bought by the Birmingham City Council and reopened the following year. Naturally, it has changed a fair bit over the years, but today is an excellent little hidden gem of a zoo in the heart of one of Britain's largest cities.

Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park (hereby referred to as BWCP for brevity's take) occupies 6 and a half acres of Edgbaston's Canon Hill Park. It is split in half by a river, the Bourn Brook, which flows into the River Rea along the site's east margin. For such a tiny zoo, it has a very impressive animal collection of more than 50 species. These are predominantly mammals and reptiles, though there are a few birds thrown in for good measure. In particular, the zoo is notable for its chelonians (turtles and tortoises) which appear to have been given enclosures in every available corner, and its new world primates (Platyrrhyni), of which it has eleven species.

The animals are a large part of what makes BWCP so attractive to locals, but the general child-friendliness of the site also contributes. There are a lot of interactive elements catered towards children, and though many appear a bit ramshackle following years of use, the kids still seem to quite like them. The same goes for the tacky bear- and frog-shaped plastic bins about the place, and the soft play area in the zoo's cafe.

The BWCP's entrance is by far its most iconic feature. It's the type of industrial-looking 'red brick' building typical of early 20th century Birmingham, and indeed was built around this time. Initially called the Canon Hill Museum, it started out as an art gallery before later becoming a taxidermy museum. Despite being on the site bought by the Dudley Zoological Society in the 1960s, it wasn't converted into an entrance until much more recently; the original entrance still stands on the southern side of the zoo, and is today used as offices. Inside is a surprisingly impressive gift shop, which has a particularly extensive selection of soft toys on sale. There are also plenty of other classic types of gift shop merchandise, but the plush animals are certainly the highlight of this one.

Through the entrance is the zoo's smaller 'north' side, home to most of their larger species in a series of paddocks that back onto the Bourn Brook. The first few next to the entrance are home to a set of South American animals; Columbian black spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps rufiventris), greater rhea (Rhea americana) and white-faced saki (Pithecia pithecia). These paddocks are all fairly spacious and well-planted, the inclusion of pampas grass in particular making a nice touch, and the primates get plenty of varied climing space. Historically, a lot of zoos have overlooked the importance of arboreal behaviours among primates, and to this day many places suffer from a lack of adequate climbing frames, so it's nice to see such effort being put into the exhibit design.

The rest of the paddocks on the zoo's north side are allocated for grazing animals; capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), red-necked wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus) and West African sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekii gratus). These enclosures are a lot more open, speaking more to form rather than function. The sitatunga, despite being the smallest member of the tribe Tragelaphini (often called the spiral-horned antelope) is the largest of the zoo's residents by quite a margin. Five are currently held, a male who has been at BWCP for a number of years, and four females who joined him in the last few months. There are also Moluccan eclectus parrots (Eclectus roratus) in this part of the zoo, a particularly colourful bird known for their clear sexual dimorphism; males are bright lime-green, females are dark red with purple shoulders.

There is also a small wooded area next to the River Rea called 'John's Wood'. Who it is named after we may never know, but it is apparently designated as a nature area within the zoo itself. The idea of having space for native species within zoos isn't exactly a new one, and many places around the UK are commended for setting aside space for wildlife. In this case, the wood seems to be a holdover from the BCWP's days at Birmingham Nature Centre, which had more of a focus on British wildlife during the latter part of the 20th century. However, the argument could be made that this 600 square metre area is somewhat redundant given the 250 acre park next-door, and is just taking up space that could otherwise be developed. 

The south side of the zoo makes up about two thirds of the total footprint and contains the bulk of the animal collection. This was where the original enclosures for monkeys, camels and big cats were built by the Dudley Zoological Society in the 1960s, some of which still stand today. Crossing over the Bourn Brook takes you to the original entrance I mentioned earlier, and just past that is the old gibbon cage. It's hard to imagine something as large and energetic as a gibbon in there now (despite gibbons often receiving sub-par enclosures in less-than-adequate zoos), and today the cage houses a flock of African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus), whom cohabitate with a singular Waldrapp or northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita), the most endangered member of the ibis family (Threskiornithidae). The only wild flocks currently reside in Morocco, but reintroduction efforts are seeking to establish new colonies in northern Africa, southern Europe and the Middle East, deriving their founder populations from an extensive captive breeding programme. 

Near the old gibbon cage are some of the zoo's most well-known and charismatic animals, including a large family group of bush dogs (Speothos venaticus), some very noisy blue cranes (Grus paradisea) - who, incidentally, dislike me and like my camera even less - and an elderly northern lynx (Lynx lynx lynx; yes that is really it's scientific name) called Nala, easily recognisable by her one eye. The enclosures for each of these species are large and forested, with plenty of tree cover and undergrowth vegetation, which gives them plenty of space to hide. This means there is no guarantee that any of them will be visible, which may come as a disappointment to some visitors, but is much more important to animal welfare than a lot of people realise. There are also a couple of mixed-species exhibits in this part of the zoo; a Malagasy enclosure for Lac Alaotran bamboo lemur (Hapalemur alaotrensis) and radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata), and a South American one for common squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) and Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum). 

Probably the zoo's most famous resident is Pete the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis), whom arrived in 2019. He is far and away the most active and personable dragon I've ever seen, though that might just be due to the number of times I've visited him. His enclosure is also one of the nicer ones for his species, which is saying something given the big-name zoos like ZSL London and Chester that also keep them. It has both large on- and off-show indoor areas with warm, deep substrate, plenty of plants and branches to provide climbing opportunities (that's right, Komodo dragons can climb) and visual barriers, and even a large pool. His outdoor enclosure is equally as impressive, with multiple types of natural substrate, lots of vegetation and a basking area. Being a newer attraction, Pete's pad is also very educational; every usable bit of wall space has a sign or a graphic on it, but not to the extent that it feels overwhelming. There is also a TV in the indoor viewing area that cycles a 5 minute video on Komodo dragons, which is very nicely put-together save for the awkward and monotone narration.

The reptile collection as a whole is one of BWCP's real highlights. I've already touched on some of the chelonians about the place, but there are an additional four species I haven't mentioned yet, including the second-largest tortoise in the world, the Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea), and a lot of European pond turtles (Emys obicularis) that are always fun to spot in their ponds during the summer months. The creme de la creme of the zoo's reptile collection is probably its reptile house, a fairly small and simple building that does a really nice job of showing off its inhabitants. Inside, the feeling of a classic reptile house is invoked with a boxy room lined with vivaria, but the size and furnishings of each exhibit are unique, and cater very specifically to the needs of their inhabitants. The Rio Fuerte beaded lizards (Heloderma exasperatum) get a wide, sandy terrarium with a lot of rocks and dry shrubbery; the Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) has a taller, denser, more humid home with deep enough water at the bottom for it to submerge and hide in.

There are just as many species off-display in the reptile house, and occasionally one of them will swap with something that's been viewable for a while. This is my hope for the zoo's Bornean earless monitors (Lanthanotus borneensis), an endangered relative of more typical moonitor lizards (Varanidae) that looks about as close to a dragon as any living animal is likely to get. They had not been bred in captivity until the last decade or so, before which they were rarely kept for very long at all. BWCP is the only place in the UK to keep them, and is currently researching their husbandry and welfare requirements, hopefully with the intention of one day putting them on display.

Another classic feature of older zoos is a nocturnal house, which have, unfortunately, gone the same way as the reptile house in many places. Luckily, BWCP has two of them. The smaller of the two is a very unassuming wooden building near the ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta; incidentally, they have a rather nice enclosure themselves) designated for the park's two species of loris (Lorinae). Inside are a pair of tall, densely vegetated enclosures full of climbing ropes and hanging baskets, one home to grey slender loris (Loris lydekkerianus) and the other home to pygmy slow loris (Xanthonycticebus pygmaeus). Having an entire building designated to the world's only venomous primates is a unique move on the part of the conservation park, and gives a really nice focus to some of the unsung mammals of the night. This is aided by the TV screen inside the house, which highlights the work done by the zoo's conservation partners working in situ with wild Javan slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus).

Easy to overlook are the other residents of the loris house, a pair of brush-tailed bettong (Bettongia penicillata). These are Australian macropods related to kangaroos and wallabies, and are critically endangered. The zoo keeps a male-female pair, and while they are currently separated, there are plans to introduce them to each other in their own new exhibit at some point in the (hopefully) near future.

The second nocturnal house, located near the reptile house, is much more conventional in its dedication to a range of nocturnal species. There are Luzon giant cloud rats (Phloeomys pallidus), one of the largest members of the mouse family (Musidae) that hails from the Philippine island of Luzon. Southern three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes matacus) live with Linnaeus's two-toed sloth (Cholouepus didactylus) and a family of douroucouli or grey-handed night monkey (Aotus griseimembra); this mixed-species enclosure, while fairly nice, does feel a little small given how big two-toed sloths can get, and a larger enclosure with more climbing opportunity would be nice. The indoor housing for the zoo's Goeldi's monkeys (Callimico goeldii) is also within the nocturnal house, and they too periodically cohabitate with night monkeys.

Possibly the most interesting species in the nocturnal house (at least as far as I'm concerned) is the West African potto (Perodicticus potto), one of the most unusual of all primates. Potto are close relatives of loris, both belonging to the family Lorisidae, and, much like their Asiatic counterparts, move very slowly and methodically through the trees at night as not to attract attention - this is often referred to as 'cryptic locomotion', and will almost certainly be the subject of its own blog post one day. At BWCP, the potto have a tall, glass-sided enclosure with a lot of varied climbing space, and they are often quite active.

One of the weaker areas of BWCP is the stretch of pathway between the loris house and the old entrance. It's not bad by any means, but doesn't match the general quality seen elsewhere, and some of the exhibits are really showing their age. This particularly applies to the big metal cage for yellow-bellied capuchin (Sapajus xanthosternos), which lacks any vegetation, hiding areas or variation in climbing options. The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) complex is pretty large, and currently houses a single individual with access to multiple outdoor and indoor enclosures, but suffers from a lack of height, and is generally much less attractive than most of the other exhibits.

Opposite the ocelot enclosure is the zoo's café, which also shows its age rather poorly, and is not kept especially clean or tidy. It's not terrible on the inside, but could be considerably better; there's minimum décor, very few food and drink options (there's coffee, toasted sandwiches, ice cream in the summer months, and that's about it), and it shares its space with a children's soft play area, so there's not much peace and quiet to be found. This arrangement probably works a lot better for families with small children, which admittedly is one of the zoo's major demographics, but it also feels like a missed opportunity for something better. 

Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park is a real hidden gem of the zoo. It's clear when visiting that it caters mostly to locals, which it seems to do very well. It lacks the standout features of a larger zoo, but makes up for it with an excellent animal collection, pretty good animal welfare for a zoo of its size, and a nice dosage of local history. Being one of south Birmingham's most important visitor attractions, it would be amazing if it held more events aimed at locals, and got the necessary funding to tidy itself up a little, with minor improvements and facelifts to some areas, and new enclosures and facilities in others. In that vein, it's a real shame that it's owned by the Birmingham city council, who clearly aren't able to provide much more funding than what's necessary to keep the doors open.

Being based in south Birmingham at the time of writing this, it's lovely to have such a nice little zoo so nearby, and from what I can tell, a lot of people in the area seem to think so too. Having been so many times over the last couple of years, it's not as exciting as it once was, but it doesn't need to be, and I still come back often so something must be working. Perhaps it's BWCP's easyness to visit that makes it so enjoyable.

References

BBC (2006) Red panda boosts visitor numbers. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/4642784.stm.

Birdlife International (2018) Geronticus eremita, The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22697488A130895601.en.

Birmingham History Forum (2014) Canon Hill Park Art Gallery & Historical Museum. Available at: https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/threads/cannon-hill-park-art-gallery-historical-museum.44273/.

Kępa, M., Tomańska, A., Staszewska, J., Tarnowska, M., Klećkowska-Nawrot, J., Goździewska-Harłajczuk, K., Kuźniarski, A., Gębarowski, T. and Janeczek, M. (2023) Functional Anatomy of the Thoracic Limb of the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis), Animals, 13(18). doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13182895.

Mapping Museums Lab (2017) Birmingham Nature Centre. Available at: https://mapping-museums.bbk.ac.uk/2017/08/25/birmingham-nature-centre/.