Howletts Wild Animal Park Howletts Wild Animal Park News 2023

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I have a trip planned to Howletts in April to do the Elephant Experience but also obviously eager to explore the rest of the park. I was looking on the website and it says they have approximately 52 species but their animal list only shows about 30 something. Curious to know what the others are as I'm aware the map is a bit outdated still showing the Ratels.
 
Daubentoniidae said:
I have a trip planned to Howletts in April to do the Elephant Experience but also obviously eager to explore the rest of the park. I was looking on the website and it says they have approximately 52 species but their animal list only shows about 30 something. Curious to know what the others are as I'm aware the map is a bit outdated still showing the Ratels.
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Javan Langur, Francois Langur, Siamang, Eurasian Grey Wolves, Gelada, White & Black Colobus Monkey, Heck’s Macaque (off-show), Fishing Cat, Capybara, Anteater, Dholes, Barbary Lion, Sumatran Tiger, Red Belied Lemur, black and White Ruffed Lemur, ring-tailed lemur, crowned lemur, African wild dog, sabre antelope, black rhino, Serval, Lion Tailed Macaque, black lemur, Pallas cat, clouded leopard, red-river hog, cheetah, ostrich, waterbuck, red lechwe, Sambar deer, dwarf mongoose, African elephant, moloch gibbon, cherry crowned mangabey, squirrel monkey, margay, Cape buffalo and eastern bongo, snow leopard, North Chinese leopard and de brazza monkey.

that’s all I can think of, off top of head.
 
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Alwaysevergreen said:
Javan Langur, Francois Langur, Siamang, Eurasian Grey Wolves, Gelada, White & Black Colobus Monkey, Heck’s Macaque (off-show), Fishing Cat, Capybara, Anteater, Dholes, Barbary Lion, Sumatran Tiger, Red Belied Lemur, black and White Ruffed Lemur, ring-tailed lemur, crowned lemur, African wild dog, sabre antelope, black rhino, Serval, Lion Tailed Macaque, black lemur, Pallas cat, clouded leopard, red-river hog, cheetah, ostrich, waterbuck, red lechwe, Sambar deer, dwarf mongoose, African elephant, moloch gibbon, cherry crowned mangabey, squirrel monkey, margay, Cape buffalo and eastern bongo, snow leopard, Amur leopard and de brazza monkey.
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I believe the leopards at Howletts are North Chinese Leopards and not Amur Leopards ..
PS have the ratels been 're-wilded' already ?
 
Shame about the Ratels, good for them though and still got a lot to look forward to clearly. How difficult are any of the carnivore species to spot? I particularly want to try and see the Dhole and the leopards.
 
Alwaysevergreen said:
Javan Langur, Francois Langur, Siamang, Eurasian Grey Wolves, Gelada, White & Black Colobus Monkey, Heck’s Macaque (off-show), Fishing Cat, Capybara, Anteater, Dholes, Barbary Lion, Sumatran Tiger, Red Belied Lemur, black and White Ruffed Lemur, ring-tailed lemur, crowned lemur, African wild dog, sabre antelope, black rhino, Serval, Lion Tailed Macaque, black lemur, Pallas cat, clouded leopard, red-river hog, cheetah, ostrich, waterbuck, red lechwe, Sambar deer, dwarf mongoose, African elephant, moloch gibbon, cherry crowned mangabey, squirrel monkey, margay, Cape buffalo and eastern bongo, snow leopard, North Chinese leopard and de brazza monkey.

that’s all I can think of, off top of head.
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Do they not still have Dusky Langur, Sulawesi macaque, white napped mangabey? You also appear to have left out their most famous residents?
 
pipaluk said:
Do they not still have Dusky Langur, Sulawesi macaque, white napped mangabey? You also appear to have left out their most famous residents?
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Yes, I believe they do! I was just trying to think of animals there off top of my head! But they do have those three as well.
I’m sure I had wrote Gorilla as well!
 
Daubentoniidae said:
Shame about the Ratels, good for them though and still got a lot to look forward to clearly. How difficult are any of the carnivore species to spot? I particularly want to try and see the Dhole and the leopards.
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Dholes are normally very active. They have a large exhibit so you may have to be patient, but first thing they are usually running about looking for food!
Leopards (north Chinese) have like only one side of exhibit viewable so it’s just a case of if they are out or not as there are no views to house or off show pen. The Snow Leopards tend to be more active later in the day.
 
Had a great visit to Howletts today, despite the intermittent rain and thunder I saw pretty much everything including all the cats and other carnivores. The elephant encounter was amazing to be that close to the bull and see the sheer size. Also got some great views of the Amur Leopard.
 
Tembe the honey badger has now gone to South Africa so no honey badgers left at howletts now

next on the list is the 4 servals going back to Africa
 
dillotest0 said:
A species in dire need of conservation efforts, as indicated by their Red-List status of 'Least Concern', which assesses their population as being in a 'stable' position.

Really .. what is the logic behind these animal moves ?
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Some serval subpopulations are endangered, as in Northern Africa where they seem to have been reintroduced in a recent past (Tunisia).

The species is protected and reintroduced (once extirpated because of an early Western-type settlement) in the Cape Province of South Africa, but in this case the reintroduction of African-born animals seems to be a better option.
Maybe the descendants of zoo animals may be eligible for reintroductions ?
Re-introducing serval - one of Africa’s 10 indigenous wild cats - Getaway Magazine
 
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Haliaeetus said:
Some serval subpopulations are endangered, as in Northern Africa where they seem to have been reintroduced in a recent past (Tunisia).

The species is protected and reintroduced (once extirpated because of an early Western-type settlement) in the Cape Province of South Africa, but in this case the reintroduction of African-born animals seems to be a better option.
Maybe the descendants of zoo animals may be reintroduced in this type of approach?
Re-introducing serval - one of Africa’s 10 indigenous wild cats - Getaway Magazine
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I'd imagine also because serval in Europe and North America are not managed as sub-species - meaning that all the servals are inevitably generics with few markers as to which sub-species they belong.
 
dillotest0 said:
I'd imagine also because serval in Europe and North America are not managed as sub-species - meaning that all the servals are inevitably generics with few markers as to which sub-species they belong.
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There are likely no valid Serval subspecies, at least based on current data, but this is Aspinall, so publicity has long trumped science or the need for any reintroductions. It also remains to be seen whether those servals will really be reintroduced or just kept in large fenced enclosures somewhere in S-Africa.
 
Sadly lioness Grace has passed away after giving birth to a pair of Lion Cubs. The two cubs are now being hand reared by Damian and Freya Aspinall at the park, and will be rewilded out to Africa once old enough to be moved.

Mr Aspinall announced yesterday, they were hand rearing two lion cubs after the death of a female lion, and has confirmed that it was Grace who passed away on his Instagram feed this morning.
 
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