Marwell vsAspinall parks

J

Jose

Well-Known Member
Hello everyone , im planning a trip to the united kingdom in the future with my wife and son, and i was just wondering how Marwell and the Aspinall parks compare. If possible i would like to visit both Marwell and the Aspinall park , from what ive seen here on zoochat both zoos seem to have similar conservation ethics. so how does Marwell compare with the Aspinall parks , in size , species kept ,atmosphere , also id like to hear which one do you rate higher the Aspinall parks or Marwell ?

thankyou friends
 
Jose said:
Hello everyone , im planning a trip to the united kingdom in the future with my wife and son, and i was just wondering how Marwell and the Aspinall parks compare. If possible i would like to visit both Marwell and the Aspinall park , from what ive seen here on zoochat both zoos seem to have similar conservation ethics. so how does Marwell compare with the Aspinall parks , in size , species kept ,atmosphere , also id like to hear which one do you rate higher the Aspinall parks or Marwell ?

thankyou friends
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Marwell Wildlife: Home
Marwell Wildlife: Zoo Guide: Interactive Map

They are both excellent zoos and is hard to pick between them, but probably the aspinall parks, dont know why, but i highly reccommend both of them, i would also rate the cotswold wildlife park on the same level as these.
 
Both are very good animal parks in my opinion. Marwell has a wide range of species and a good number of themed exhibits, which are always a draw for me. Meanwhile the Aspinall parks mainly focus on primates but do also have a good variety. I would find it hard to pick between the two, they both have very good features. Port Lympne has the African safari while Marwell has Into Africa and Roof of the World. To be honest, I'd leave it up to you to decide which you prefer :)
 
Personally, I prefer Marwell to the Aspinall parks because, as well as the "unconventional quality" (ie large paddocks and lots of rare ungulates), there are a number of themed exhibit complexes which the aspinall parks lack. That is not to belittle them, however, and either choice would be a good one.
 
You can visit Marwell (in Hampshire) in one day.

You need two days to properly visit both the Aspinall Parks- they are about 20 miles apart from each other in Kent.

If you could only visit one or other area then I would recommend both the Aspinall Parks. But Marwell is worth the extra effort too.
 
These are my favourite zoos, and I agree with previous comments. Both are rural zoos of similar scale (Howletts 90 acres, Marwell 140 acres, Port Lympne 600 acres) centred by stately homes, set up in the mid-twentieth century with conservation as the catalyst and the welfare of animals rather than people in mind. Both keep rare and unique species, with ungulates been Marwell's speciality: All three zebra species, the hub of Okapi, Somali Wild Ass and Pygmy Hippo breeding in the UK, the only Sable Antelope, Dama and Dorcas Gazelles in the country along with the only Takin and Black Wildebeest bar one other collection, and also like Aspinall, success with the cat species. The big difference with Marwell as mentioned is that it has more 'themed' exhibits such as Roof of the World, Life in the Trees and the African Valley, with more set to come in the masterplan, the next being a new cheetah exhibit which will hopefully open this year.

That said, you can definately feel a similarity between these three parks (along with the Cotswold Wildlife Park IMO), and indeed John Knowles and John Aspinall got on very well together. In fact, when Howletts first opened to the public, the hunting dogs and many of the deer and antelope were on loan from Marwell. One of Marwell's last tiger cub litter went to Howletts, and is now the breeding female in their successful amur tiger group there.

I would strongly recommend all if you could manage it.
 
Zambar said:
In fact when Howletts first opened to the public, the hunting dogs and many of the deer and antelope were on loan from Marwell.
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Howletts was founded at least ten years before Marwell, although initially it wasn't open to the public. The bulk of the(then) Howletts collection- Gorillas, Tigers, other cats, Elephants, Black Rhino, Prezwalski Horses, Bison, and the majority of asian Deer and Antelope etc was already in place well before it opened to the public. I don't think many(any?) animals were transferred from Marwell to Howletts during that period, while Port Lympne was mainly stocked from Howletts. Hunting Dogs could have come from Marwell and species such as the Kudu/Roan or other African antelope- but not much else.
 
Honestly I prefer the Aspinall Parks.
Yes there is a pretty good chance you wont see many of the animals and the indoor houses not being open to the public but it leaves them with a safe place that they can be completely on their own - Something very important with members of the cat family.
Howletts too me was a just awe-inspiring visit. I just fell in love with the place, the atmosphere was that of a very natural country park - A superb place for an animal Park which Marwell has too but not as heavy woodland as I can gather.
As much as different methods go and I know we will argue alot.
I favour the Aspinall Parks, In my opinion it is the finest zoo in the UK,
Marwell and the Aspinall Parks in design are pretty similair, large open fields etc. But its the respect that Aspinall gave his animals even to the point of completely moving them from public view is just inspirational. He would never do something just for the visitors that could make the animals life even a tad worse.
And just for some info Howletts was first set up around 1956/7 So regarding quite alot of Zoo's in the Uk it is pretty old. The Zoo didnt open fully to the public until 1975 and one of the main reasons of this was because of a huge lack of money. The Zoos collection was pretty much born into itself. And they dont realy rely on heavy transfering as they simply have no need too. The odd transfer will go on for instance of Nika the Marwell born Amur Tigress. But not enough to sugest a proper 'patnership' if you like.
Not much of the style has changed to suit the visitors at all, but the animals love it and giving visitors the chance to even catch of a glimpse of Rare Cats such as Clouded Leopards with cubs is to me far more special then simply going to an Asian Themed Glass Box.

This is a pretty risky thread if I say so myself but if we dont want to affend anyone we need to respect others opinions as I will try my best to do.
 
Pertinax said:
Howletts was founded at least ten years before Marwell, although initially it wasn't open to the public. The bulk of the(then) Howletts collection- Gorillas, Tigers, other cats, Elephants, Black Rhino, Prezwalski Horses, Bison, and the majority of asian Deer and Antelope etc was already in place well before it opened to the public. I don't think many(any?) animals were transferred from Marwell to Howletts during that period, while Port Lympne was mainly stocked from Howletts. Hunting Dogs could have come from Marwell and species such as the Kudu/Roan or other African antelope- but not much else.
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I am aware that the park was around long before, but a guide from Howlett's opening day one of the members posted here shows a list of stock that year, and the animals I've mentioned (I think it was hunting dogs, blackbuck and axis deer; ironically all animals no longer at Marwell) were noted as been on loan from Marwell.
 
I've never been to Marwell but I'd like to say that Howletts and Lympne are outstanding places. Yes, they have bars and other forms of obstructive animal containment, but who cares when the animals there seem as content as they do, and are given loads of respect from the public? They're both really relaxing parks with great collections and the sheer number of gorillas, elephants and rhinos between the too parks is really impressive.
Personally I prefer Howletts but both parks are awesome nonetheless.
 
Zambar said:
and the animals I've mentioned (I think it was hunting dogs, blackbuck and axis deer; ironically all animals no longer at Marwell) were noted as been on loan from Marwell.
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I'm interested in this as I wasn't aware anything much was sent from Marwell to Howletts. I am 99% certain Howletts already had sizeable herds of both Blackbuck & Axis Deer in their original collection- perhaps they took Marwell's when no longer needed as a way of introducing some new blood into their own stock.

I would be interested to know if the foundation stock of African Hunting Dogs came from Marwell.(Marwell's pair came from Whipsnade, which again I am almost certain was at the time the ONLY UK zoo which kept them-with the possible exception of the odd one at ZSL) I know Howletts did not have this species originally(before Marwell). If they came from Marwell then they too were from the same ex Whipsnade stock. I think I'll follow this a bit more...;)
 
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Zambar said:
These are my favourite zoos, and I agree with previous comments. Both are rural zoos of similar scale (Howletts 90 acres, Marwell 140 acres, Port Lympne 600 acres) centred by stately homes, set up in the mid-twentieth century with conservation as the catalyst and the welfare of animals rather than people in mind. Both keep rare and unique species, with ungulates been Marwell's speciality: All three zebra species, the hub of Okapi, Somali Wild Ass and Pygmy Hippo breeding in the UK, the only Sable Antelope, Dama and Dorcas Gazelles in the country along with the only Takin and Black Wildebeest bar one other collection, and also like Aspinall, success with the cat species. The big difference with Marwell as mentioned is that it has more 'themed' exhibits such as Roof of the World, Life in the Trees and the African Valley, with more set to come in the masterplan, the next being a new cheetah exhibit which will hopefully open this year.

That said, you can definately feel a similarity between these three parks (along with the Cotswold Wildlife Park IMO), and indeed John Knowles and John Aspinall got on very well together. In fact, when Howletts first opened to the public, the hunting dogs and many of the deer and antelope were on loan from Marwell. One of Marwell's last tiger cub litter went to Howletts, and is now the breeding female in their successful amur tiger group there.

I would strongly recommend all if you could manage it.
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I will try to visit both of these parks my friend , im already familiar with the Aspinall parks (which i am very fond of) and the London zoo , i used to visit them quite frequently when i lived in London for a short period. I am curious about Marwell though as it seems to have a very interesting collection of species, i think ill have to give Marwell a visit. The Aspinall parks seemed to have changed over the years and become perhaps slightly more commercial with the African experience. However i know the parks need all the money they can get to continue their noble efforts in conservation , and im sure that same Aspinall atmosphere that haunts the parks will still be there , but i cant help being slightly nostalgic that the park i came to know in the late 80s and 90s will have changed drastically , the wonderful black panthers and chimpanzees have gone , as have many animals that used to be resident to the parks.
 
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