William Henry Dudley, the eldest son of Albert and Caroline Le Souëf, was born on 28 September 1856 at Brighton, Melbourne and registered as Dudley Emanuel Wales. Although he lived on the Zoological grounds as a child and participated in its daily routine, Dudley received most of his formal education at Crediton Grammar School, Devonshire, England. In 1874, at the age of eighteen, he returned to Melbourne intent on pursuing a career in zoology and accepted the position of assistant-secretary to the Zoological and Acclimatization Society of Victoria. As a representative of the Society, Dudley attended scientific congresses and acquired a prominent public profile in the zoological world. From 1880, on behalf of the Melbourne Zoo, he also undertook extensive
collecting trips to India, the United States, Singapore, England, Europe, Japan and New Guinea. With contacts for the purchase of animals and birds firmly established and limited financial support, international travel became less frequent after 1888. Whilst in London Dudley married Edith Evelyn Wadeson on 27 September 1888.

In 1890 when Albert Le Souëf went to Europe, Dudley was appointed Assistant-Director, and in 1902 during a special meeting, he succeeded his father, the late A.A.C. Le Souëf as the Director of the Zoological Gardens. In the same year Dudley set out on an ambitious tour of the world zoos. He was particularly impressed with the imaginative exhibits designed by Karl Hagenbeck in the Berlin Zoo. Devoid of conventional bars, high wall and moats were devised and hidden from view by simulated rocks and logs which constrained the animals. It was the first time that animals had been seen in captivity without cages. Dudley began to replace the formidable buildings developed by his father with rock-like structures of concrete over a sheet or wire base. His designs were based on photographs of large rocks in the Mount Buffalo region taken by his friend E.J. Dunn, director of the Victorian Geological Survey. Although the knowledge gleaned from this trip was to alter zoo design in Australia for the next two decades, Dudley did not live to see this type of enclosure in Melbourne. The legacy of his vision did, however, influence the development of Taronga Zoo.

Considered to have inherited his father's genius in the management of zoological gardens, Dudley attempted to make the collection of fauna at the gardens as complete as possible. More than a mere manager, his talents were multifaceted as he traveled extensively around Australia observing the habits of animals and birds, in search of specimens, photographing wildlife and on an endless round of lantern lecture tours. Dudley was also a prolific writer, his publications include Wildlife In Australia, Animals of Australia, co-authored with E.A. Lucas in addition to numerous scientific journals and newspaper articles.

Undoubtedly, the great passion of Dudley Le Souëf's life were birds and he acquired an international reputation as an ornithologist. He possessed one of the finest and most comprehensive private collections of Australian birds' eggs extant, numbering over 600 species, now in the British Museum. This level of commitment also extended to various organisations including the Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union, the Field Naturalists' Club, the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Society, and the National Parks Association.

In 1919 when Dudley returned from the bank with the wages he was viciously attacked by a former zoo employee. His health deteriorated and he suffered a stroke in 1922. During Dudley's illness the Council who were impatient for his retirement attempted to force him to relinquish his position. Dudley Le Souëf died in office on 6 September 1923 at Royal Park and was buried in Melbourne general cemetery. He was survived by his wife and six children.