BBC NEWS | England | Kent | Wild dogs escape from animal park A group of Dholes have escaped from Howletts, and some are still on the loose!
Hunting Dogs On The Loose: Dholes Escape From Howletts Wild Animal Park Kent Zoo | UK News | Sky News Another story about it. Apparantly one dhole died! Lots of articles on google news. Let's hope they are caught soon.
Disturbing News ! Though the reports suggest that a couple are still on the loose Id say they the staff did extremely well indeed to recapture as many as they did if 20 got out!? It is a nightmare for everyone involved not least the keepers. This species is so elusive , it may be some time before they are ALL found especially in that area . Z.
That's VERY bad news! If I was a zoo manager/owner then that would be my worst nightmare come true. I do think the press release is playing down the seriousness of this somewhat - I'm sure I read at Twycross that dholes can be very aggressive towards other animals, especially in a large pack. Certainly a bit more dangerous than your average fox!!! Out of interest, does anyone know what the enclosure at Howletts is like for them?? I'm very curious as to how this might have happened.
Hopefully they'll be caught before they've had a chance to! Can't help but feel in a few years time there will be tails of feral Dholes all over the UK...
It's quite a large, square paddock with a wire mesh fence (I think there is an overhang). The ground is pretty flat and it has a lot of bushes and scrubby small trees. Unless someone did something stupid, like leaving a gate unlocked, my guess would be a hole in the fence or a burrow underneath it. If you look at the Zoochat map of the zoo its near the north-east corner, diagonally opposite the north-west corner of the car park. The hunting dogs are to the south, black rhinos to the north and bongo to the east. Alan
Very bad news and Good Luck to the staff at Howletts who I know will be very upset and worried about the situation, I hope the two are found quickly and returned alive! I agree with Gentle Lemur the paddock is quite large with lots of shubbery.
I would agree with gentle lemurs comments , personally I doubt it was keeper error , even briefly not closing the door it would take some time for all 20 to realise and escape! One or two you could understand perhaps(?). My guess is they dug under the fenceline somehow , though to be fair they are not really renowned for digging on a large scale like say Timber Wolves for instance. Its a real shame , Howletts have had alot of success over the years with this species, but equally they have had outbreaks of disease within the group which have been devastating to numbers in the past. Group numbers have fluctuated over the years as a result. They are a highly strung species , somewhat nervous but also quite aggressive for their physical size. I hope the missing animals are found quickly. Z.
That would be my guess too. Any other escape route probably wouldn't be discovered so quickly by the whole pack. I'd also like to see this species exhibited in a few more Uk zoos too.
it is just twycross and howletts & port lympne at the moment isn't it? are anymore parks looking at acquiring dholes? included in any master plans?
I rather doubt it but they make a very interesting exhibit, especially in a large group as at Howletts. I can't remember how Twycross came by theirs but presume they came from Howletts stock.
he said hesitatingly, i think there are dhole at the Black Isle wildlife park nr Inverness, and some at the Galloway wildlife park too.
They used to have dhole at Black Isle Wildlife Park but I believe they are now gone as I didn't see them there two years ago. They came from Twycross Zoo and they were kept in a low fenced enclosure apparently which is now used for meekats. Tywcross Zoo.
Yes, there are now no longer any Dhole at Black Isle. I think I added a photo of their old enclosure to the gallery. I'd be surprised if the Dhole never escaped from it.
wow , i remember the dhole at both Aspinall parks , i am hope that they are returned safely to their enclosures soon.....
