volvox
Well-Known Member
Visited Howletts for the first time last week – quite an experience! The overwhelming impression was that this is a zoo built for animals, not people, which is absolutely fine in principle, but there were no concessions to variety of architecture and the less said about the "catering" the better! Wish we'd taken our own sandwiches because really there was nothing worth eating.
The enclosures seem to all be plain box shaped, lovely and big, but very samey. They also sometimes seemed to go in for quantity over variety (gorillas and various middle-sized primates for example, oh and so many moloch gibbons!) which I suppose is the result of attention to breeding. But the size of the enclosures and often their distance from the visitors meant the animals did seem very relaxed, especially the gorillas, who could always escape and hide from the public.
We were surprised to find no indoor enclosures at all – nowhere to save up for the rainy interludes – no reptiles (the Burmese pythons have gone), birds, insects, no small mammals; and only one walkthrough with three black lemurs and a new baby enjoying eating the apple blossom (the adults, not the youngster)! The other newcomer was the giant anteater, only a couple of weeks old, looking like a little alien on its mother's back. The honey badgers were great, very active, I've never seen them before needless to say. And some of the cats were lovely – the fishing cats and the Pallas cat particularly. The dholes were great too, beautiful condition.
So... a mixed experience... plenty to keep us there all day – a good six hours – we did get round the whole park in that time! Not sure I'd go back again, though. Doesn't seem to have enough "wow" factor.
The enclosures seem to all be plain box shaped, lovely and big, but very samey. They also sometimes seemed to go in for quantity over variety (gorillas and various middle-sized primates for example, oh and so many moloch gibbons!) which I suppose is the result of attention to breeding. But the size of the enclosures and often their distance from the visitors meant the animals did seem very relaxed, especially the gorillas, who could always escape and hide from the public.
We were surprised to find no indoor enclosures at all – nowhere to save up for the rainy interludes – no reptiles (the Burmese pythons have gone), birds, insects, no small mammals; and only one walkthrough with three black lemurs and a new baby enjoying eating the apple blossom (the adults, not the youngster)! The other newcomer was the giant anteater, only a couple of weeks old, looking like a little alien on its mother's back. The honey badgers were great, very active, I've never seen them before needless to say. And some of the cats were lovely – the fishing cats and the Pallas cat particularly. The dholes were great too, beautiful condition.
So... a mixed experience... plenty to keep us there all day – a good six hours – we did get round the whole park in that time! Not sure I'd go back again, though. Doesn't seem to have enough "wow" factor.
