CONSERVATIONIST and TV presenter, Bill Oddie will visit Dudley Zoo tomorrow (Monday) to open the £20,000 Baboons on the Bank exhibit.

The one-acre natural hillside enclosure, which is home to a family group of Gelada baboons, will be officially opened by Bill at midday.

He will also be saying hello to his namesake – the zoo’s first Gelada baby, Billie who was born on July 8.

The zoo’s head of media and communications, Jill Hitchman, said: “Bill will be officially opening our enclosure which was constructed in-house by our development team and provides a natural hillside home for the five-strong group.

“He is a keen supporter of the zoo’s work and will be taking in a tour of the site to see our latest developments and meeting a few new arrivals during our recent baby boom - including seven-week-old Billie.”

She added: “Billie is gorgeous and already very alert. He loves watching what’s going on around him and is starting to communicate with group members through facial expressions, which is how the species interacts.”

Baboons on the Bank can be viewed from an indoor shelter on the lower level, at the top of the bank adjacent to the reindeer paddock or simply by soaring over them on the country’s only vintage chairlift.