Howletts or Port Lympne?

volvox

volvox

Well-Known Member
I have the chance to visit one or other of these zoos this spring - possibly both if we stay overnight in Canterbury or somewhere near, but I need to know which is "better" if we can only choose one. Any thoughts? We like cats (all sizes), not so keen on primates. Particularly fond of fossas, binturong, anteaters, aardvarks, sloths, that sort of thing.
 
If cats are your priority, Port Lympne technically has more species, including one or two difficult to see elsewhere, and also does keep fossa. However, the general consensus is that due to changes to PL in recent years, Howletts is now the better overall location - and it still has an unbelievably good range of cat species.
 
For what your after i think port lympne is best, they have binturong, fossa and lots of cats which is on your list.
But howletts has the honey badger and sumatran tigers which i think you would be interested to see;).
 
callum said:
For what your after i think port lympne is best, they have binturong, fossa and lots of cats which is on your list.
But howletts has the honey badger and sumatran tigers which i think you would be interested to see;).
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Sumatran Tigers aren't as rare in the UK as a Honey Badger. ;)

Howletts have some nice rarities, African Wildcat, Indian Desert Cat (PL also hold these!), Hecks Macaque, Iberian Wolf as well as multiple others! Having never visited any of them, I cannot say what is physically like.
 
It sounds as if the two locations are equally attractive... but Howletts slightly has the edge because of the honey badger which I didn't know about... I think we're going to have to visit both.
 
volvox said:
It sounds as if the two locations are equally attractive... but Howletts slightly has the edge because of the honey badger which I didn't know about... I think we're going to have to visit both.
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If you go to both you'll find they are very different experiences nowadays. Howletts is much smaller and nearly all flat, and you can spend the whole day wandering from exhibit to exhibit, not to mention all those Gorilla enclosures.

Port Lympne is a beautiful estate, but on a steep hillside and very large. There are stunning views over the English Channel and Romney Marsh. Much of it is now only accessible via the Safari trucks so you can't wander at your own leisure to view the animals in those areas. In the pedestrian area many exhibits are set well apart from each other so there is a lot more uphill/downhill walking to do.

However species -wise both have specialities the other hasn't got, as well as many similarities. For a Zoo enthusiast you really need to both at last once before deciding which you prefer. If you can only do one then I would suggest Howletts as you will potentially get more from your visit.
 
Jordan-Jaguar97 said:
Sumatran Tigers aren't as rare in the UK as a Honey Badger. ;)
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but they don't have them in PL
the thing with the Indian desert cat is that it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to see. ;)
PL have the Iberian wolf now as well apparently but haven't been there recently.
 
Well, that's all very helpful, especially hearing how different they are in layout/size/views... but it sounds as if we had better try and fit both of them in over a couple of days with a visit to Canterbury in between. We don't go till May but I'm just trying to plan things...
 
callum said:
but they don't have them in PL
the thing with the Indian desert cat is that it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to see. ;)
Click to expand...

You say that, but both of them were out constantly when I visited ;)
 
I really, really, really would suggest going to both!

Mind you, it's a while since I've been. PL had Sumatran Rhino at the time!

:)
 
I've been to Howletts a few times in the last couple of months and only seen the African Wildcats twice and the Indian Desert Cat once.
You might be lucky though.

The tigers at Howletts are usually fed Tuesdays and Fridays so they spend most of their time out of sight the day after.

The 2 Honey Badgers are very active most of the time.

Personally I prefer Howletts but that might just be because I can get the bus there easily. I'd definitely recommend fitting in both if you can though.

EDIT: The Iberian Wolves at Port Lympne are usually quite active too. I've seen the Howletts wolves once and that didn't last long.
 
It sounds like you're doing what I did two or three years ago I stayed in Canterbury and went to Howletts & Wildwood (wildlife wise).

I've got to say I enjoyed the much smaller Wildwood than Howletts but that's got a lot to do with the reasons discussed here previously (Howletts appearing to paint themselves as superior to all other zoos). :)
 
I love Wildwood too, lovely little place.

If you have time I'd recommend half a day at Wingham. It's improved massively in the past few years. They have a pair of pumas and a pair of jaguars (neither Howletts or Port Lympne have these). The male jaguar is one of the 2 that were born white so he's a bit lighter than normal.
They also have a pair of lions, tigers and caracals.
As long as it's not raining you're pretty much guaranteed to see all of them.
It's also only a 10 minute drive from Howletts.

Howletts have Giant Anteaters.

I hope some of this info is useful anyway, sorry for rambling on :)
 
Wingham has other rarities too like smooth coated otters, little red flying fox and grays monitors.
Wildwood has native species and some animals i think you would find interesting such as american mink and pine martin.
 
Unfortunately the mink almost never comes out. I haven't seen it out since it's enclosure was redeveloped and I think that was a few years ago.
The pine marten haven't been out for a while either.

The Wingham otters are very friendly and playful though.
 
This is marvellous, I've never heard of these places, what a wealth of information! I shall print all this lot off and plan our trip. I've booked a hotel in Cannterbury for two nights so we'll try and cram everything in... thank you all so much.
 
maybe if the RSCC or the WHF have open days when you visit you should check them out
 
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