insideKENT Magazine Issue 40 - July 2015 | Page 92

DAYSOUT

port lympne reserve &
howletts wild animal park
Sleeping safely a few steps away from a cheetah, or waking up to
see a dazzle of zebra pass your tent is a luxury few people would
expect to experience anywhere but the Serengeti...
Yet most Kentish folk know that you only need
to head towards the Hythe coast to enjoy such
animal encounters.
Port Lympne Reserve in Lympne is rapidly
becoming world-renowned for its unique (and
award-winning) accommodation in the heart of
its 600-acre wild animal reserve, with everything
from cottages to cosy camping pods to
choose from.
But some guests may not realise that by simply
enjoying their stay in the reserve, they will be
helping to fight poachers, protect endangered
species and reintroduce rare animals back into
the wild.
Port Lympne Reserve and its sister park Howletts,
near Canterbury, have been entertaining hundreds
of thousands a visitors a year for 40 years, in
order to continue to fund and run their worldrenowned conservation and breeding
programmes with The Aspinall Foundation.

As the Lympne reserve prepares to open its most
exciting accommodation offer yet this summer,
Visit Kent shares its top ten facts about the
organisation to show why a day out or break with
the animals will do much more than put a smile
on your face...
1. Howletts opened to the public in 1975 and
Port Lympne one year later as spacious wild
animal parks, dedicated to protecting and
preserving endangered and rare species from
around the world. The Aspinall Foundation
charity was set up in 1984 to further the ongoing
conservation work and breeding programmes,
and continues to work with both parks today.
2. Today, the two parks house more than 1,000
animals and 100 different species, and they
are amongst the most successful breeders of
captive endangered animals in the world.
3. All proceeds from Port Lympne’s
accommodation, and the entrance fees to both
parks, are ploughed straight back into the
parks and their conservation programmes.

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4. In their 40 years of conservation work, the
parks have welcomed 135 gorilla births, 33
black rhino, 123 clouded leopards, 33 Javan
gibbons, 104 Javan langur and 20 African
elephants.
5. The parks work with two protected areas in
the Congo and Gabon in Africa for the
rehabilitation and reintroduction of gorillas into
the wild. To date, more than 60 gorillas have
been successfully reintroduced into the wild.
6. The Aspinall Foundation recently carried out
work in Indonesia to protect Javan primates,
and the charity has returned 45 primates to
the wild, including 32 Javan langurs, 8 Javan
gibbons and 5 grizzled langurs, in the space
of just two years.
7. Howletts is currently home to the largest herd
of African elephants in the UK, and it was the
first park to breed Africa