Howletts Wild Animal Park Howletts Wild Animal Park News 2015

Both good news and a massive pity - reintroduction into the wild *is* a good thing, but it is a shame the taxon will no longer be kept or bred in captivity when I would argue that the native habitat is nowhere near secure enough for the entire captive population to be released.

This is mere supposition on my part, but I rather assume that this may well be a decision by Damien Aspinall himself rather than the senior staff he employs; his near-contempt for the collections he owns, along with the concept of holding animals in captivity, is well-established by now.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Both good news and a massive pity - reintroduction into the wild *is* a good thing, but it is a shame the taxon will no longer be kept or bred in captivity when I would argue that the native habitat is nowhere near secure enough for the entire captive population to be released.

This is mere supposition on my part, but I rather assume that this may well be a decision by Damien Aspinall himself rather than the senior staff he employs; his near-contempt for the collections he owns, along with the concept of holding animals in captivity, is well-established by now.
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Agree with all of this. Rainforests in Indonesia are just as endangered as much of their wildlife.
Aspinall not doing the species any favours. If he was creating a new wild population in protected forest, then I might have accepted the logic.
 
Lemurs said:
The grizzled leaf monkeys have all been taken back to Java for release. There are none left anywhere in captivity.
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Back on the menu so. This "Zoo" has gone from a feelgood factor zone to a depressing sort of place. Does it have a committee or society, or are all decisions made by overprivileged Damian.
 
regarding the above news....

Last primates in captivity at Canterbury Wild Animal Park return to forests of Indonesia - PHOTO
The Aspinall Foundation, a world leading conservation charity, headed by dedicated conservationist – Damian Aspinall, have sent the only captive group of endangered grizzled leaf monkeys outside Indonesia, back to the wild.

The seven primates, five males and two females, travelled from their current home at Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent, over 7000 miles, to the conservation charity’s Javan Primate Project in Indonesia.

Damian Aspinall, Chairman of The Aspinall Foundation said: ‘These are the only grizzled leaf monkeys in human care, outside Indonesia. We’ve had huge success with our breeding programme – vital for this species to survive. Now, we are delighted to be able to send them back to the wild, where they belong.’

On 17th November, the group accompanied by one of their dedicated primate keepers, began their epic journey back to the wild as they embarked on a 14 hour flight to Singapore, followed by a further flight to Jakarta. From Jakarta, they travelled by road to the charity’s project in Java.

Matt Ford, Head of Primates at Howletts said: ‘We’ll miss them at the park, but returning animals to their native habitat is what we passionately believe in. Last year, we sent a group of six grizzled leaf monkeys to Java and it’s amazing to watch them in the wild. I can’t wait to see this group exploring the forest for the first time and enjoying their new lives.’

On Thursday 19th November the group of grizzled leaf monkeys arrived at the charity’s Javan Primate Project, safe and sound. The group will spend some time settling in to their new surroundings and becoming acclimatised, under the watchful eye of their keeper from Howletts and the expert primate team in Indonesia.

Made Wedana, Director of the Indonesian Project for The Aspinall Foundation commented: ‘We’ll monitor the group very carefully over the coming weeks and months. Once we know they are ready, we’ll gradually release them into larger areas, until they have the run of the forest. Even when they are fully released into the wild – we’ll make sure they are continually monitored.’
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Chlidonias said:
regarding the above news....

Last primates in captivity at Canterbury Wild Animal Park return to forests of Indonesia - PHOTO
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Thanks, Chlidonias!

Contrary to the rants by some ZC-ers the grizzled langurs will actually pass through a halfway-house station on West Jawa before their eventual rehabilitation and release into protected and monitored forest reserves on Jawa.

Knowing some of the staff personally on the ground, I can only vouch for their care and expert knowledge of current reintroduction practices. They are a well seasoned group with a good number of locally trained staff in the driving seats!
 
A little bit less in Kent for Damien to worry about..now,what can this anti-zoo zoo owner get rid of next? Aspers snr. must be rotating in his grave.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Both good news and a massive pity - reintroduction into the wild *is* a good thing, but it is a shame the taxon will no longer be kept or bred in captivity when I would argue that the native habitat is nowhere near secure enough for the entire captive population to be released.

This is mere supposition on my part, but I rather assume that this may well be a decision by Damien Aspinall himself rather than the senior staff he employs; his near-contempt for the collections he owns, along with the concept of holding animals in captivity, is well-established by now.
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I agree, it must also be said that the Aspinall`s history of sending primates back to the wild has been rather less successful than it had been hoped at the time. I am not saying it should not be done, far from it, but it is a great deal more risky than many appreciate. In this present case it could be more to do with not having a very stable captive sex ratio at the moment at Howletts (5.2), combined with a reluctance to import further stock, if that was necessary perhaps ?
 
Nanook said:
In this present case it could be more to do with not having a very stable captive sex ratio at the moment at Howletts (5.2), combined with a reluctance to import further stock, if that was necessary perhaps ?
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I suspect that depends on what the sex ration of the six they sent to Java in 2014 was - it is quite possible that batch was female-heavy.
 
Nanook said:
I agree, it must also be said that the Aspinall`s history of sending primates back to the wild has been rather less successful than it had been hoped at the time. I am not saying it should not be done, far from it, but it is a great deal more risky than many appreciate. In this present case it could be more to do with not having a very stable captive sex ratio at the moment at Howletts (5.2), combined with a reluctance to import further stock, if that was necessary perhaps ?
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A bit of the latter! In in a recent workshop it was determined / advised that more efforts should be concentrated in securing in situ conservation of their populations. This has led to a reluctance and determination not to export any further stock and instead concentrate on rehabilitating the species on Jawa. JAF and the zoos are fully in agreement with that.

Aside, despite the criticisms here the release and rehab program is quite successful and has shown up some remarkable results already. These released groups are monitored extensively by local staff. So, I dunno why ye all decry foul. I really do feel it is for the better (even ... though I DO feel we need to establish the procedure for good husbandry / good nutritional base for Colobine primates, in particular Cercopithecines, mangabeys-colobuns and langur species. These all .. are among the most affected primates family groups in recent years. And of most species we know too little and ... a captive assurance program would be advisable.

Sadly, most zoos do not seem interested or are lacking the expertise in good husbandy / good nutritional base in western zoos.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
A bit of the latter! In in a recent workshop it was determined / advised that more efforts should be concentrated in securing in situ conservation of their populations. This has led to a reluctance and determination not to export any further stock and instead concentrate on rehabilitating the species on Jawa. JAF and the zoos are fully in agreement with that.
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Indeed, most people are all too happy to use this as a stick to beat Aspinall. However, people bemoaning the loss of a rare langur species could instead look at other zoos who are happy keeping more mundane primates. How many UK zoos keep any langurs?

The animals will eventually be released within a protected area and monitored. They’re not being left by the road with a few snacks and bus pass, and the decisions have been reached by people who are far more knowledgeable than anyone here (myself included, obviously).
 
Lemurs said:
and the decisions have been reached by people who are far more knowledgeable than anyone here (myself included, obviously).
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So does this mean that only very knowledgeable people (to be assessed by you?) are allowed to have opinions.
 
Yes Dublin, I am of course Lord Master of All Users Knowledgable and I hereby deem you guilty of making assumptions and talking rubbish about Howletts.

The place isn't "depressing," there is a great "feel good factor", and whilst not everyone has to be a fan of Damian he spends millions of his own cash each year on such projects. They're facts, not conjecture.

So by all means have an opinion, but if you're going to slag off a place without any basis then expect to get picked up on it.
 
At the end of the day Lemurs,Aspinall has declared himself anti-zoo in essence - one of the greatest acts of hypocrisy in our field.His dad was still warm in his grave when he hived off International Zoo News which had the misfortune to be costing this multi-millionaire £11,000 a year,in the process he placed someone his dad had promised a job to in a most unfortunate position.Did he care? Trust him at your peril would be my motto.Why should a stated anti-zoo person get good press on a site such as this?
 
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