Amongst the recent births at PL have been a drill and a litter of fossa.
Popular wildlife park sees baby boom | Meridian - ITV News
Popular wildlife park sees baby boom | Meridian - ITV News
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park Port Lympne 2014
- Thread starter kiang
- Start date
All good news , particularly the drill and fosas . I reckon it is quite a few years since there was a successful fosa breeding in the UK .
Indeed - plus the fact that at least one (if not both) of the parents of these new cubs was a new founder import from San Diego is also a bonus
Now then Bele,i first saw the new spelling of Fosa a few years ago at Naples Zoo in Florida[it even has a different pronunciation if you go to Paree and not Paris]...as the Handbook of Mammals of the World uses the single "s" I suppose we should get used to the idea!
Much as I prefer the look of the word "fossa", considering the fact I always tend to use the terms "narrow-striped boky" and "ringtailed vontsira" rather than giving said taxa the name mongoose I suspect I will have to get used to saying "fosa" for fear of being a hypocrite 
if you're saying it, then there is no difference between "fossa" and "fosa"Much as I prefer the look of the word "fossa", considering the fact I always tend to use the terms "narrow-striped boky" and "ringtailed vontsira" rather than giving said taxa the name mongoose I suspect I will have to get used to saying "fosa" for fear of being a hypocrite
The pronunciation is foosy. 
Malagasy is a really complicated language, but the o is a long o (i.e. oo) and the s is a sh sound. The last syllable is usually dropped entirely from words -- with very long words often the first syllable is dropped as well, and sometimes even syllables in the middle! (Told you it was complicated).The pronunciation is foosy.
So Fossa or fosa (however one spells it) should be pronounced "foosh"
However, Malagasy has regional dialects the same as any other large populated land-mass, so in some parts of the island they do indeed say "foosh-ah" or even "foss-ah" (although it is entirely possible that the latter pronunciation was introduced with English-speakers!).
Incidentally the double s was used in the common name to indicate the sh sound (as opposed to a single s sound). More recently "fosa" was introduced to try and avoid confusion with the genus Fossa. Neither "fossa" nor "fosa" are incorrect, because both are English versions from a language which did not have a written form until Europeans made one up for it (although there was an earlier Arabic-based script, which does not matter for this discussion)!
Yes ,re. my point about Paree or Paris-I wouldn't dream of saying I was going to the former for the weekend,or Mathdreed,or Bareleen.To try and adopt local dialects when pronouncing words is a little too "new age" for my liking-so I will stick with Fossa thanks very much.I recently heard that Nyala was wrong and it should be "enyala"-where will it all end?[never obviously].
the way I see it, the world is going to just keep getting more and more PC until nobody can say anything at all for fear of pronouncing it wrong or of using an un-PC word and offending the people around them. Then everyone will just sit and stare blankly at the nearest wall. Like in Serenity where most of the populace just sat down and died.
The latest e-mail newsletter received from the Aspinall Foundation mentions that Port Lympne is now being re-branded as "Port Lympne Reserve". Is it just me or does every recent change/action coming out of this place seem either pointless or a wrong turn?
No, you're not alone! As I've said on a previous thread, makes you wonder what Aspinall Senior would've made of it all.
Personally, I can't see PL having a long term future. The soul's gone, and when you've got an owner who doesn't want anything to do with the place then you're fighting a losing battle. Damn shame.
Communityzoo
Well-Known Member
While the singularity of purpose shown by John Aspinall can often be admirable, the parks were able to run at a huge loss back in the days of the casinos. The present-day parks have to pay for themselves. With many of the same species across both parks, if re-branding PL a reserve brings about additional visitors (I would already argue it has the most naturalistic African hoofstock 'safari' experiences in the UK), there is obviously an intention for the park to survive.
I also think, in terms of the mansion being converted to a hotel, that yes, day visitors are unhappy about not having access to it, but perhaps another way to see it is that you now have the opportunity to stay overnight in the Port Lympne mansion, to wake up in such an incredible place. Of course, this excluded people already struggling to afford entry, but I just mean an option is there to those who love this place, no matter how infrequently this may be possible for those on a budger.
It's also not as if the living collection has declined since Damien Aspinall took over - in fact its the opposite. These may be less 'special' (well-established EEP/ESB species), but still it doesn't point to a plan to run down either site in order to close it.
I have incredible memories of walking those remote paths under forming thunderclouds without another group of people in sight, happening upon many very special moments with some amazing creatures. I would love, love, for PL to create a walking route round its perimeter, but I understand that (a) they'd be vilified in the press if/when some idiot decided to climb in with the animals (given their reputation, historically), and (b) there would be absolutely no profit in it. Port Lympne used to be just for those of us who knew about one of the best kept secrets in Kent, but now, for the sake of its survival, we have to share it with trucks, couples getting married, and noisy families, a lot like any other zoo.
I do agree that the terrain isn't the best, and more frequent stops/vantage points along the driven part of the route would often be some respite from being in the trucks.
The obvious solution would be for them to create a general behind-the-scenes package for those who want to see the old parts of the park now closed to pedestrians.
I also think, in terms of the mansion being converted to a hotel, that yes, day visitors are unhappy about not having access to it, but perhaps another way to see it is that you now have the opportunity to stay overnight in the Port Lympne mansion, to wake up in such an incredible place. Of course, this excluded people already struggling to afford entry, but I just mean an option is there to those who love this place, no matter how infrequently this may be possible for those on a budger.
It's also not as if the living collection has declined since Damien Aspinall took over - in fact its the opposite. These may be less 'special' (well-established EEP/ESB species), but still it doesn't point to a plan to run down either site in order to close it.
I have incredible memories of walking those remote paths under forming thunderclouds without another group of people in sight, happening upon many very special moments with some amazing creatures. I would love, love, for PL to create a walking route round its perimeter, but I understand that (a) they'd be vilified in the press if/when some idiot decided to climb in with the animals (given their reputation, historically), and (b) there would be absolutely no profit in it. Port Lympne used to be just for those of us who knew about one of the best kept secrets in Kent, but now, for the sake of its survival, we have to share it with trucks, couples getting married, and noisy families, a lot like any other zoo.
I do agree that the terrain isn't the best, and more frequent stops/vantage points along the driven part of the route would often be some respite from being in the trucks.
The obvious solution would be for them to create a general behind-the-scenes package for those who want to see the old parts of the park now closed to pedestrians.
IanRRobinson
Well-Known Member
No, you're not alone! As I've said on a previous thread, makes you wonder what Aspinall Senior would've made of it all.
Personally, I can't see PL having a long term future. The soul's gone, and when you've got an owner who doesn't want anything to do with the place then you're fighting a losing battle. Damn shame.
I tend to agree with you. Port Lympne has been spoilt for those who really loved it. It's a peculiar piece of marketing to alienate your existing customer base.
1.1 lynx were born some time in June. They were out a few times earlier.
I don't know if it's ever been mentioned but the remaining brown hyena is the older male.
3 cubs were born there at some point, 1 male, 2 female. The females were sent to other zoos, can't remember what happened to the male but they did move him on eventually.
The older female was sent back to Prague, where she originally came from.
I don't know if it's ever been mentioned but the remaining brown hyena is the older male.
3 cubs were born there at some point, 1 male, 2 female. The females were sent to other zoos, can't remember what happened to the male but they did move him on eventually.
The older female was sent back to Prague, where she originally came from.
Just got back from Port Lympne:
The 2 Carpathian Lynx cubs were out and about playing in their exhibit today.
Didn't see the cheetah cubs, but there are now 3 on-show enclosures:
- 1 on the truck drive
- 1 by basecamp where the Canadian Timber Wolves were
-1 Down the bottom of carnivore territory (with new cubs)
Also the last male brown hyena is being moved back to prague in a few weeks, the head keeper of large carnivores took us down there to take some shots.
The 2 Carpathian Lynx cubs were out and about playing in their exhibit today.
Didn't see the cheetah cubs, but there are now 3 on-show enclosures:
- 1 on the truck drive
- 1 by basecamp where the Canadian Timber Wolves were
-1 Down the bottom of carnivore territory (with new cubs)
Also the last male brown hyena is being moved back to prague in a few weeks, the head keeper of large carnivores took us down there to take some shots.