Howletts Wild Animal Park Howletts Wild Animal Park News 2021

scottie31 said:
I also find it weird that an individual so apparently against the idea of zoos is also creating boutique, expensive 'experiences' at one of his sites.
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I don't think it has any connection with his dislike of zoos. You have to look at the history of Port Lympne to understand this. It was originally purchased by his father as an overspill for the Howletts collection- the Howletts site then being only around 50 acres. Port Lympne being much larger, allowed expansion with the larger species like the Black rhinos, Asian Elephants, ungulate herds, more gorilla groups, etc. But while visitors were not the primary consideration, its location also meant it was not well visited by the public. As well as that parts are also steep and its so large it is not really pedestrian friendly either. At one stage DA was even rumoured to be trying to sell it. Instead, options for making it more attractive for visitors and to pay its way were then sought- first the African safari-style experience, later the luxury accomodation, buggies etc. were all brought in to address that.
 
Gigit said:
I think this is new news? The EAZA have cancelled a Memorandum of Understanding allowing the release of gorillas into the wild.
Aspinall Foundation: MoU with EAZA ends | zoosmedia
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Yes, its recent anyway. Discussed on a couple of Gorilla FB pages already. The way its written makes it sound like it would prevent Aspinall Parks doing any more releases, but as they are no longer members of EAZA, how can it be binding- and presumably its not actually law...but it might make organising them considerably more difficult however. Its a real war between him and EAZA now.
 
I find it interesting on how Aspinall intends to re-wild even the Ratel - the species is of least concern, so what does one aim to achieve by re-wilding it?
And seeing as Aspinall's ratel/s are not representative of a pure sub-species, even if the ratel were somewhat threatened, how much value would it really be to our hypothetical population of threatened Ratel?
 
dillotest0 said:
I find it interesting on how Aspinall intends to re-wild even the Ratel - the species is of least concern, so what does one aim to achieve by re-wilding it?
And seeing as Aspinall's ratel/s are not representative of a pure sub-species, even if the ratel were somewhat threatened, how much value would it really be to our hypothetical population of threatened Ratel?
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They may be rare in parts of their home range, perhaps North Africa or South-western Asia.
 
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