Port Lympne Wild Animal Park Port Lympne 2013

Siberian apparently, there are 2 of them (1:1) but they're at Howletts now.
I can't find any info on when they moved there though
 
spike241 said:
Siberian apparently, there are 2 of them (1:1) but they're at Howletts now.
I can't find any info on when they moved there though
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All revealed.... from Howletts facebook

"We are happy to officially announce the debut of two very rare Siberian or Amur tiger cubs!

The five month old cubs named Kazimir and Arina have been hand raised, from birth.

These cute cubs had a hard start in life, as their mum left them alone. We made the decision to hand raise them so that they would get the nutrition and care that they needed"
 
0.0.8 Painted Dog have been born: apparently the first successful UK breeding for five years
 
Nisha said:
0.0.8 Painted Dog have been born: apparently the first successful UK breeding for five years
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Slight correction - the post on facebook says first in England; which might or might hold true for the UK as I don't know if Edinburgh have bred them in that timespan, but even so it is better to quote the exact wording of the source :)
 
I was lucky enough to see the two tiger cubs at Howletts last week, Somebody has started a different thread and I posted about it on that one. They were both hand reared by the keepers as their mother at PL had already got cubs and rejected them. Both have had some problems with their legs and the female walks with a little bit of a limp and awkward gate but they hope they may be able to correct this in due course. They were both very active and spent a lot of the time playing and towards the front of their enclosure.
As you can imagine a lot of media attention this is the best clip I can find from BBC local news. BBC News - Public debut for Howletts' rare tiger cubs
.
 
Website says they sent five iberian wolves to Portugal for reintroduction to the wild.
Wolves Run Wild

Does anyone know if there are any iberian wolves left on show at Port Lympne?
 
Arizona Docent said:
Does anyone know if there are any iberian wolves left on show at Port Lympne?
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I rather doubt it. I believe they had split their group into two, with females(?) at PL and the males at Howletts. I was told this was due to fighting. In any event sending them back to Spain was a good idea IMO as they were a very poor exhibit at either Park as they showed themselves so rarely, and they can breed them just as easily in semi-captivity in Spain as in Kent.

Whether the single sex(?) group at Howletts follows suit, or a new breeding unit is set-up, remains to be seen, but they are largely invisible there too.
 
Pertinax said:
I rather doubt it. I believe they had split their group into two, with females(?) at PL and the males at Howletts. I was told this was due to fighting. In any event sending them back to Spain was a good idea IMO as they were a very poor exhibit at either Park as they showed themselves so rarely, and they can breed them just as easily in semi-captivity in Spain as in Kent.

Whether the single sex(?) group at Howletts follows suit, or a new breeding unit is set-up, remains to be seen, but they are largely invisible there too.
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I don't think this is logical. The wolves were tantalising, because you only got glimpses for the most part - but they were far easier to see than the vast majority of the small cats. I don't think that justifies giving up on any of these species. I do like the idea of supporting the in situ breeding scheme.

Alan
 
gentle lemur said:
I don't think this is logical. The wolves were tantalising, because you only got glimpses for the most part - but they were far easier to see than the vast majority of the small cats. I don't think that justifies giving up on any of these species. I do like the idea of supporting the in situ breeding scheme.

Alan
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I pretty much agree with this.

Personally I'm wondering how big a part, if at all, the money saving aspect is of the motives of the Aspinall collections reducing their stock (first Gorillas, now Iberian Wolves) recently?
 
I've never had a problem seeing the wolves at PL and if it's quiet (e.g a weekday) I've often seen them at Howletts.

8569498426_c2088843bb_n.jpg


This was taken at Howletts on Sunday. If you have patience you will see them.
 
spike241 said:
This was taken at Howletts on Sunday. If you have patience you will see them.
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Maybe its just sour grapes on my part because I have had such problems seeing them..:) I did make several visits and waited ages at the Howletts enclosure the last time. It was very quiet and fresh meat had been put out, but I was only rewarded with very brief glimpses even then, and the food stayed untouched. I guess time of day, day of the week/degree of hunger has a lot to do with it. Although typically failing to see many of the small cats at PL, on one visit I was around their cages at about 4p.m. and virtually every species was active and showing- I think it was close to their feed time.

These wolves are certainly beauties as your photo shows.

I'm wondering if the decision to send the PL ones away was due to their 'no show' tendencies(as a display for visitors that is) or for conservation reasons, or both. I'm also thinking the Howletts ones might stay as otherwise wouldn't they have been sent to Spain with the PL ones, altogether?
 
gentle lemur said:
I don't think that justifies giving up on any of these species. I do like the idea of supporting the in situ breeding scheme.
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As I said above, I'm not sure if this is a decision made on conservation grounds, or their visibility as a display, or a mixture of both, or with expense in the mix too. Will their enclosure now house more Hunting dogs perhaps?

The move of Djala's group seems to be sliding backwards timewise, it was originally programmed for January.
 
It would be nice if the hunting dogs were moved. I haven't been to PL for almost a year but they're on the safari route aren't they?

I must have been lucky because the PL wolves were always running around when I went, unlike those at Howletts. I often had noisy brats (siblings) with me too. Animals can be strange :)

Thanks for the info about the PL cats, I'll try that time next. I don't usually see many of them.
 
spike241 said:
I must have been lucky because the PL wolves were always running around when I went, unlike those at Howletts. I often had noisy brats (siblings) with me too. Animals can be strange :)

Thanks for the info about the PL cats, I'll try that time next. I don't usually see many of them.
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'Animals can be strange'- can't they just...;) I never saw as much as a whisker of the Iberian Wolves at PL- I think as with most species hunger is the key to stimulating activity. And regarding the small cats- it was very noticeable the difference of them all being active at that time( around 4p.m.) from the usual empty-looking enclosures.

There used to be Hunting Dogs at PL in the enclosures at the bottom end near the Lions, as well as the large group on the Safari tour. Not sure what the situation is now as that area is less accessible than previously.
 
Pertinax said:
There used to be Hunting Dogs at PL in the enclosures at the bottom end near the Lions, as well as the large group on the Safari tour. Not sure what the situation is now as that area is less accessible than previously.
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I don't remember those, I'll have to check that out soon
 
There are, or were, also Hunting Dogs in the enclosure adjacent to the one the Iberian Wolves lived(?) in. Can't remember if I saw them there last time though.
 
Thanks for the wolf info - this is very helpful. I have been to Port Lympne twice (second time got one shot of wolf sitting along fence line). Never been to Howletts. When I return next month, I only have one day in the area and my plan is to go to Howletts in morning and Port Lympne in afternoon. This update on wolves confirms that is a good plan.

And I have always had good luck with small cats at Port Lympne, but that is likely because of the effort I put in.

According to latest map, I believe the lower wild dog enclosure at PL now has cheetah? (I will confirm this when I go).
 
Arizona Docent said:
According to latest map, I believe the lower wild dog enclosure at PL now has cheetah? (I will confirm this when I go).
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Yes, I think there were Cheetahs in there last time I went(last year). We are talking about the enclosure on the bend. I suspect there may still be more than just the Hunting Dog group in the Safari area though, as it would be tricky to simply amalgamate the different groups into just one.

Howletts- the Iberian wolves(if still there) are in the large rather ramshackle wooded enclosure behind the Mansion at the end of the Woodland walk. It used to house the Dhole pack. You should enjoy Howletts- nowadays I much prefer it over PL.
 
They still have Dhole in the enclosure next to that, I only realised they were there last time though. I don't normally see them.
 
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