I recently read the 1988 book The Passion of John Aspinall (by Brian Masters) and it was a worthwhile addition to my collection even if there was not enough "zoo" and too much about Aspinall's personal life and gambling practices. The work that Aspinall did with Lowland Gorillas, African Elephants, Black Rhinos, Przewalski's Horses, Amur Tigers, Snow Leopards, Clouded Leopards, Fishing Cats, Ratels and other species was extraordinary, often with incredible breeding success that was at one time unparalleled anywhere.
However, John Aspinall was obviously a deeply flawed man who at various points in the book is called eccentric, cold-hearted, insolent, uncaring, an extravagant host who spent bucket-loads of money, and a bizarre individual with outlandish political statements being the norm all throughout his life. He was married 3 times, bankrupt just as often, and he would host amazing parties and feasts that would allow his cronies to be wined and dined. Aspinall once had his favourite chocolates flown into his isolated African safari camp, he would hire keepers with zero prior knowledge of animals, had numerous escapes early on in his zoo career, and he would encourage his employees to enter cages with dangerous creatures. Tiger attacks in 1970 and 1972 and even several tragedies (for example, keepers Brian Stocks and Bob Wilson were killed by the same tiger in separate incidents), along with a keeper death from an elephant, never seemed to halt Aspinall's belief that physically working with tigers and elephants was the way to approach keeping those species in captivity.
John Aspinall did a lot of wonderful things in terms of pioneering how certain animals could be successful in captivity, but he also divided public opinion perhaps more so than any zoo man in history. Being quoted as saying he "would be happy to see large numbers of humans exterminated" or how he spoke "glowingly of euthanasia, abortion and infanticide" are things that make him appear to be a total lunatic. Even with all of the accolades and positive comments that he received from zoo professionals over the years, there was always a feeling that Aspinall sort of stumbled into the world of zoos and according to his biography there was absolutely nothing in his earlier years that would lead one to suspect that captive exotic animals would be a major factor in his life. His parks are still vital facilities on the U.K. zoo scene, although they have never really received many visitors in comparison to major zoos around the world. These days Damian Aspinall has carried on the "playboy tradition" that is evident from any kind of Google search, and he comes across as anti-zoo even though he is running two parks filled with captive animals. Did the apple not fall too far from the tree? Even on TripAdvisor, there are statements from Port Lympne that state "we are not a zoo but a breeding sanctuary". John Aspinall would likely agree with such a remark, as his biography makes the point that if he hadn't needed the money to keep the facilities going then he would never have opened either Howletts or Port Lympne to the public.
Overall, a very interesting book about a wild and crazy individual.
However, John Aspinall was obviously a deeply flawed man who at various points in the book is called eccentric, cold-hearted, insolent, uncaring, an extravagant host who spent bucket-loads of money, and a bizarre individual with outlandish political statements being the norm all throughout his life. He was married 3 times, bankrupt just as often, and he would host amazing parties and feasts that would allow his cronies to be wined and dined. Aspinall once had his favourite chocolates flown into his isolated African safari camp, he would hire keepers with zero prior knowledge of animals, had numerous escapes early on in his zoo career, and he would encourage his employees to enter cages with dangerous creatures. Tiger attacks in 1970 and 1972 and even several tragedies (for example, keepers Brian Stocks and Bob Wilson were killed by the same tiger in separate incidents), along with a keeper death from an elephant, never seemed to halt Aspinall's belief that physically working with tigers and elephants was the way to approach keeping those species in captivity.
John Aspinall did a lot of wonderful things in terms of pioneering how certain animals could be successful in captivity, but he also divided public opinion perhaps more so than any zoo man in history. Being quoted as saying he "would be happy to see large numbers of humans exterminated" or how he spoke "glowingly of euthanasia, abortion and infanticide" are things that make him appear to be a total lunatic. Even with all of the accolades and positive comments that he received from zoo professionals over the years, there was always a feeling that Aspinall sort of stumbled into the world of zoos and according to his biography there was absolutely nothing in his earlier years that would lead one to suspect that captive exotic animals would be a major factor in his life. His parks are still vital facilities on the U.K. zoo scene, although they have never really received many visitors in comparison to major zoos around the world. These days Damian Aspinall has carried on the "playboy tradition" that is evident from any kind of Google search, and he comes across as anti-zoo even though he is running two parks filled with captive animals. Did the apple not fall too far from the tree? Even on TripAdvisor, there are statements from Port Lympne that state "we are not a zoo but a breeding sanctuary". John Aspinall would likely agree with such a remark, as his biography makes the point that if he hadn't needed the money to keep the facilities going then he would never have opened either Howletts or Port Lympne to the public.
Overall, a very interesting book about a wild and crazy individual.
He would actually have been breeding Gorillas ten years before he did, and therefore before anywhere else in the UK, had it not been for the tragic loss of his original male, the nearly fully mature 'Kulu'. Kulu had come from Basel, having proved too old/strong as a companion/playmate for handreared female infant 'Goma' and subsequently had grown up in JA's group reaching age 12, before suddenly succumbing to a virus or infection. They had no on-site Vet or anything in those days but whether he could have been saved is perhaps doubtful anyway. After that they employed a vet fulltime(?). As JA said himself' Kulu's loss 'set the colony back a decade' as next male Gugis proved unable to breed- only with the arrival of Kisoro from the USA some years later did their fortunes change and by then both Bristol and Jersey had bred Gorillas in the UK.