The Castle Hill attraction is taking part in Birmingham’s summer adventure trail – The Big Sleuth – by both sponsoring and hosting a bear sculpture.

The free public art trail started yesterday with 100 giant sun bears appearing around the city for ten weeks, before they’re auctioned off with all proceeds going to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Dudley Zoo is proud to sponsor a bear, which can be found in Oozells Square in Brindleyplace. The colourful statue, named Enlightenment, is number 55 on the trail and has been designed by Essex-based artist, Valerie Osment and features birds, bees, flora, fauna and a large beaming sun. DZG Marketing Manager, Andrea Hales, said: 

“We felt it was appropriate to be involved in the trail. Our 37 year-old moon bear, Inca, is the last remaining Asiatic Black Bear and we’re always keen to support the work of Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

“We’re really thrilled with our bear, which we’ve nicknamed 'Sunny Dudley', as we felt it tied in perfectly with our native species conservation work and we hope she receives thousands of visitors over the coming weeks.”

People who visit 'Sunny' can unlock a child goes free reward voucher through the Big Sleuth App, which can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play. Andrea added:

"If you spot her over the summer, make sure you take a photo and post your pics on our Facebook and Twitter pages as we’d love to see her guests!"

Staff are also delighted to be hosting one of the trail’s bears, one of a small number to be stationed outside of Birmingham.

Number 77 on The Big Sleuth trail is 'Dharma' and has been sponsored by Vodafone. She's located outside the iconic Tecton wave entrance.