Hello everyone ,i hope you are all well , i have another post which is also about Port lympne zoo in Kent. I must apologise for the length of this post, but i enjoy reminiscing on the good times i had in this particular zoo and i still have much affection for it.
I was always impressed by this zoo in my visits to England , and i always made sure there was time on my trips to have a good walk around the grounds and see all of the animals. I remember that it was always refreshing to see such care and consideration for animals in the Aspinall parks and in zoological establishments in general in England. I must admit by the way that in my country it is the complete opposite, although Mexico is a developing country........ and there is much improvement to be made in both the humane treatment of humans and animals. The Port lympne and Howletts of my memory had huge spacious enclosures filled with foilage for the animals to hide in, which didnt always guarantee on me seeing or photographing some of the rarer species. The majority of the animals were endangered or threatened in their wild state. I also remember the atmosphere ambiente of the park was less for the benefit of the public and more for the animals i might add that the atmosphere and the personality of Aspinall was slightly misanthropic but i think that is a very good attitude to have considering the damage our species does to the world, and with conservation in mind. i remember that there were no childrens play parks or viewing windows which made it all the better in my opinion , me being used to the big commercial zoos of my country. I remember most of all watching John aspinall sitting inside the pavilion with the Gorillas at Howletts and the fantastic burmese pythons. I was saddened by the news a few years back of the death of the founder, John Aspinall, who i admired greatly.
However i recently looked on the web page of Port lympne and Howletts and to my horror, i found that the Port lympne and Howletts of my memory have become more commercial. I see that now more common species are being kept alongside the rarer species, viewing windows have been built into enclosures and there is even a safari part to the zoo. I realise that with the death of the late John Aspinall and with the economic crises across the oceans the continuation of the parks must be maintained at any cost,and that there is still a great deal of conservation being done at these sites , but do any of you mourn the old Aspinall parks which were purely for conservation ?
also whatever happened to the Honey badgers of port lympne they seem to have been replaced by common suricatas , there were also some brown hyenas does anyone know what happened to them?
and i read in an old booklet from the zoo i purchased at a railway station many years ago that they once kept an animal called a fischer, does anyone remember it?
Thankyou very much , forgive me for the long post
muchos gracias ,cuidate, y espero todo esta bein con ustedes
I was always impressed by this zoo in my visits to England , and i always made sure there was time on my trips to have a good walk around the grounds and see all of the animals. I remember that it was always refreshing to see such care and consideration for animals in the Aspinall parks and in zoological establishments in general in England. I must admit by the way that in my country it is the complete opposite, although Mexico is a developing country........ and there is much improvement to be made in both the humane treatment of humans and animals. The Port lympne and Howletts of my memory had huge spacious enclosures filled with foilage for the animals to hide in, which didnt always guarantee on me seeing or photographing some of the rarer species. The majority of the animals were endangered or threatened in their wild state. I also remember the atmosphere ambiente of the park was less for the benefit of the public and more for the animals i might add that the atmosphere and the personality of Aspinall was slightly misanthropic but i think that is a very good attitude to have considering the damage our species does to the world, and with conservation in mind. i remember that there were no childrens play parks or viewing windows which made it all the better in my opinion , me being used to the big commercial zoos of my country. I remember most of all watching John aspinall sitting inside the pavilion with the Gorillas at Howletts and the fantastic burmese pythons. I was saddened by the news a few years back of the death of the founder, John Aspinall, who i admired greatly.
However i recently looked on the web page of Port lympne and Howletts and to my horror, i found that the Port lympne and Howletts of my memory have become more commercial. I see that now more common species are being kept alongside the rarer species, viewing windows have been built into enclosures and there is even a safari part to the zoo. I realise that with the death of the late John Aspinall and with the economic crises across the oceans the continuation of the parks must be maintained at any cost,and that there is still a great deal of conservation being done at these sites , but do any of you mourn the old Aspinall parks which were purely for conservation ?
also whatever happened to the Honey badgers of port lympne they seem to have been replaced by common suricatas , there were also some brown hyenas does anyone know what happened to them?
and i read in an old booklet from the zoo i purchased at a railway station many years ago that they once kept an animal called a fischer, does anyone remember it?
Thankyou very much , forgive me for the long post
muchos gracias ,cuidate, y espero todo esta bein con ustedes
Last edited:
but not everything at Howletts and Port Lympne is wonderful. Some of the oldest mesh and wooden caging is terribly outdated and should have been pulled down a long time ago, yet understandably because of the cost of replacemnt, these cages still have animals living in them.
