Nostalgia for the Aspinall parks of old
- Thread starter Jose
- Start date
johnstoni
Well-Known Member
My first visits were in the early eighties. Howletts had just had it's first elephant calf, I remember lots of chousingha, some Gaur, African and black leopard, marmosets, water buffalo and calamian deer.
The first time I saw Port Lympne I remember striped hyenas in the wolf woods, african buffalo, sable and roan antelopes on the hillside, eland in the banteng paddock, african golden cats (including a melanistic one, does anyone remember this?), Black-necked storks, cheetahs in the dhole enclosure, 2 bull elephants, european wild boar and the chimpanzees throwing missiles at the public.
The first time I saw Port Lympne I remember striped hyenas in the wolf woods, african buffalo, sable and roan antelopes on the hillside, eland in the banteng paddock, african golden cats (including a melanistic one, does anyone remember this?), Black-necked storks, cheetahs in the dhole enclosure, 2 bull elephants, european wild boar and the chimpanzees throwing missiles at the public.
I was looking through some old photos and found one of John Aspinall in with tigers and another of keepers with tigers . Also a photo of a femal douc langur and baby at Howletts , they had some success but also lost several of these beautiful monkeys .
I went on a Marwell Zoological Society weekend trip to Howletts and Port Lympne many years ago . We had exceptional hospitality - wonderful buffet lunches on both days - and were greeted by Tom Begg , but saw nothing of John Aspinall though I believe he was at home .
I went on a Marwell Zoological Society weekend trip to Howletts and Port Lympne many years ago . We had exceptional hospitality - wonderful buffet lunches on both days - and were greeted by Tom Begg , but saw nothing of John Aspinall though I believe he was at home .
On one visit there Aspinall gave us lunch. I found him to be much more charming than I had expected... we were then taken to see the Tigers, Gorillas etc. He crawled into a Tigress's den and took her small cubs out to play with them as if they were puppies, to which the mother made no objection whatsoever. Then the routine Gorilla 'show' with the Djoum group. He also spent a lot of time talking about Sumatran Rhinos as he was after them at the time...
Douc Langurs at Howletts
A group of 2.2 arrived in July 1984 , all in poor condition with digestive problems . On female , aged about 5 on arrival died December 1994 and a similarly aged male died May 1986 .
The remaining pair , Duke , 2 year old on arrival and Chantille , less than a year old on arrival , thrived and matured . On 9th March 1988 the first UK birth , a male , was recorded , unfortunately Duke had died of pseudoTB before this .
In October 1989 a further 1.3 arrived from Rome , the male was young . I assume these had originally been imported at the same time as they were said to be related to the others already at Howletts . The Howletts born young male was exchanged for a 6 year old male from Cologne .
Unfortunately the 3 Rome females all died within 6 months around 1990 , one had given birth to a male which was adopted by the rest of the group , Chantille also gave birth to a second male . The group was now 4.1- an adult pair and 3 young males .
Chantille died during her third pregnancy and presumably another male as 3.0 are listed for September 1993 . The final males were sent to another collection - I do not know where .
All of this is taken from the annual HELP newsletters which were becomimg a bit less detailed towards the end of this period .
In October 1989 an adult pair of maroon leaf monkeys - Presbytis rubicunda - arrived , the female did not last long though the male remained in the collection until at least Septemner 1993 .
A group of 2.2 arrived in July 1984 , all in poor condition with digestive problems . On female , aged about 5 on arrival died December 1994 and a similarly aged male died May 1986 .
The remaining pair , Duke , 2 year old on arrival and Chantille , less than a year old on arrival , thrived and matured . On 9th March 1988 the first UK birth , a male , was recorded , unfortunately Duke had died of pseudoTB before this .
In October 1989 a further 1.3 arrived from Rome , the male was young . I assume these had originally been imported at the same time as they were said to be related to the others already at Howletts . The Howletts born young male was exchanged for a 6 year old male from Cologne .
Unfortunately the 3 Rome females all died within 6 months around 1990 , one had given birth to a male which was adopted by the rest of the group , Chantille also gave birth to a second male . The group was now 4.1- an adult pair and 3 young males .
Chantille died during her third pregnancy and presumably another male as 3.0 are listed for September 1993 . The final males were sent to another collection - I do not know where .
All of this is taken from the annual HELP newsletters which were becomimg a bit less detailed towards the end of this period .
In October 1989 an adult pair of maroon leaf monkeys - Presbytis rubicunda - arrived , the female did not last long though the male remained in the collection until at least Septemner 1993 .
Leafy branches can be frozen. Some evergreen species are acceptable too. Buds from deciduous species are good in early spring.
Alan
Some Langur species are more difficult to keep in captivity than others. Javan Langurs seem no more difficult to keep than Colobus monkeys- many zoos keep and breed them successfully.
Douc Langurs on the other hand are nervous and prone to stress and dietary related problems in captivity making them much more difficult to keep longterm.
Douc Langurs on the other hand are nervous and prone to stress and dietary related problems in captivity making them much more difficult to keep longterm.
I found this image on google. I recognise it as I had a poster of it which I got from Howlett's years ago. The caption on it said something like "Female douc langur Hazel and male offspring, Howlett's". I haven't got the original poster anymore.
http://www.monkeyland.co.za/modules/article/dbimages/article/douclangur2.jpg
The first time I visited Howlett's the douc langurs had just arrived and were locked inside in a cage near the gorillas. I could just see the face of one of them through a dirty window and managed to find a keeper who let them out and fed them on rose clippings.
http://www.monkeyland.co.za/modules/article/dbimages/article/douclangur2.jpg
The first time I visited Howlett's the douc langurs had just arrived and were locked inside in a cage near the gorillas. I could just see the face of one of them through a dirty window and managed to find a keeper who let them out and fed them on rose clippings.
twycrosszoo
Well-Known Member
Other zoos are interested in keeping Doucs langurs. Great shame as Cologne zoo has had a great record in breeding them in the past. I know they are trying to get new stock from America I believe, as when Doug Richardson moved from Singapore Zoo recently the langurs that had been promised to Cologne all fell through.
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I'd dispute that- Cologne had more than a few stillbirths, aborted offspring and adult deaths and they have struggled to keep their group viable over the years. It certainly hasn't flourished. I feel that Douc Langur is an example of a species which does not do well and so shouldn't be kept, in colder climate countries- all the other European zoos that have kept them ended up losing them all over time.
twycrosszoo
Well-Known Member
In reply to your previous posting, Cologne have had a great breeding record breeding the Douc Langur however due to inbreeding because they were unable to get new stock in and they were reluctant to bring the American Doucs due to some reason or other they have had some problems with births etc. Hopefully if they can get this new stock in this will improve the breeding of the Doucs.