DUDLEY Zoological Gardens is officially opening its new Lorikeet Lookout tomorrow (Saturday May 28) - on the first day of Love Your Zoo Week.

The development - the final part of the zoo's £200,000 redevelopment scheme - has seen the former Monkey Tails building transformed into a home for free flying Australian Rainbow Lorikeets which visitors can feed by offering pots of a sweet nectar made by the zoo's keepers each day.

Zoo Director Derek Grove said: “We’ve taken the building back to housing birds, as that is what it worked best for and we’re thrilled to introduce a new species to DZ and a new interactive element for visitors.

“The Rainbow lorikeets look absolutely stunning and we know they work very well in walkthrough exhibits.”

Lorikeet Lookout, which has cost £40,000, is the final project in the lower zoo site redevelopment scheme and includes a new heating system and pool filtration system for the building’s ponds which now house koi carp, goldfish and terrapins.

The walkthrough is also home to Monty, the white-throated monitor lizard and free-roaming roul roul partridges and plans are already afoot to increase the lorikeet numbers in the coming months.

Over the last few months the Castle Hill attraction has opened an enlarged Flamingo Falls exhibit at a cost of £120,000 and seen the arrival of 20 new flamingos to join the group.

The zoo has also built a £40,000 Macaques on the Bank enclosure by transforming an unused hillside bank into a paddock for critically-endangered Sulawesi crested macaques.

Derek added: “As part of the plans we wanted to create three new developments where visitors could get closer to the animals and we’ve succeeded in this.

“All three exhibits also have facilities to improve visitor experiences on wet weather days as they’ll still be able to see the animals if they’re indoors thanks to extended indoor viewing areas.”

Focus will now turn to introducing giant anteaters to the zoo's collection.

Derek said: “We want to continue with a rolling programme of work throughout the year, so there’s always something new for visitors to come and see.

“We’re currently working on plans for the new giant anteaters to arrive in time for the summer holidays, so there’s more to look forward to."

Love Your Zoo Week runs from Saturday May 28 to Saturday June 4 and aims to encourage people to visit zoos, aquariums or wildlife parks on their doorstep.