The Aspinall parks legacy

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

John Aspinall fed his gorillas Bendinck's Mints and also employed a chap in Cumbria to make them fudge.

You are not kidding about that are you ? So the gorillas had their own personal fudge maker ?

I do respect the successes the man was able to make during his lifetime in conservation but honestly I find all of that sort of thing to be just totally ridiculous and unnecessary.

Maybe he was just so insanely wealthy that he enjoyed indulging the animals while also taking the p***.

 

[Pertinax]

You are not kidding about that are you ? So the gorillas had their own personal fudge maker ?

I do respect the successes the man was able to make during his lifetime in conservation but honestly I find all of that sort of thing to be just totally ridiculous and unnecessary.

Maybe he was just so insanely wealthy that he enjoyed indulging the animals while also taking the p***.

With reference to diets; I don't know about the reality of the fudge and chocolate treats, but the Howletts gorillas were(perhaps still are?) fed very luxurious/lavish diets, with all sorts of exotic fruits and vegetables included that gorillas in other zoos could only dream of. Neither were any of them ever overweight, all their gorillas were very fit due to the group sizes and climbing faciities meaning they took/take a lot of exercise.
All his other animals were similarly generously fed I know.

Regarding eccentricity- the best story I heard was how the first gorilla bachelor quarters at Port Lympe was built with a tower(its complete with gorilla weathervane on top) so that the gorillas could see France across the English channel. Maybe he was just joking...

 

[Gavialis]

Aspinall talked about his gorilla diets in a 1996 interview with The Guardian. See below for the quote.

Aspinall's critics argue that his devotion is too extreme, that he anthropomorphises the animals. Why feed his gorillas on Bendinck's Mints?

Because, he says, they love it. "Gorillas have a much better palate than humans. If I give them cheap chocolate, they know." He employs someone in Cumbria to make fudge for his gorillas. "Friends say it is the best fudge they ever tasted." Aspinall also owns a farm which supplies the big cats with fresh horse-meat and beef. And he has a hothouse to grow winter leaves for the chimps.

And regarding Whipsnade: I think you're right, Pertinax. I suspect ZSL was just desperate for a buyer and Aspinall happened to be a nearby candidate. The latter knew, of course, that there was no way he could finance a third loss-making park.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Regarding eccentricity- the best story I heard was how the first gorilla bachelor quarters at Port Lympe was built with a tower(its complete with gorilla weathervane on top) so that the gorillas could see France across the English channel. Maybe he was just joking...

Once again, this is truly bizarre but maybe he did have a sense of humour about these things and relished being seen eccentric and misunderstood by wider society

Either way, I suppose it is all just for the history books what successes were achieved because the Aspinall parks are on a downward trajectory which I doubt they will ever rise from.

 

[Panthera1981]

I don’t know how these things work, but have the Aspinalls/the parks ever held a seat on BIAZA/EAZA or been invited to any meetings/conferences? I know they operated out of this sphere for many years, but I can’t imagine Damian would endear himself that much - not that that would bother him I imagine!