DUDLEY Zoo is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its first walkthrough exhibit Lemur Wood.

A decade on, the one-acre paddock where visitors come face to face with free-roaming lemurs is still the zoo's most popular exhibit.

The woodland, which is home to 18 lemurs opened to the public in 2005 and cost £38,000 to construct.

Inside the attraction, keepers inform visitors about lemurs and how they work on conservation programmes to ensure the survival of the species in their native Madagascar.

Zoo director Derek Grove, who led the team which designed and built the innovative lemur attraction, said: “Lemur Wood gives our visitors a unique close encounter with many endangered species.

“During its construction we had to take a lot of height off some of the mature trees and over the years these have spread out to create a wonderfully natural exhibit which works for both the visitors and the lemurs.

“This very successful design has remained our most popular exhibit throughout the 10 years and we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved. It has to be one of the best in the country.”