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Howletts Wild Animal Park Howletts Wild Animal Park News 2018

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by vogelcommando, 18 Jan 2018.

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  1. vogelcommando

    vogelcommando Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    vogelcommando, 18 Jan 2018
    #1
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  2. TriUK

    TriUK Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Aspinall - putting his money where his mouth is! Brilliant work and an example to all other zoos in the UK!!
     
    TriUK, 19 Jan 2018
    #2
  3. Swampy

    Swampy Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Given other ape reintroduction schemes, I'm not holding my breath just yet.
     
    Swampy, 19 Jan 2018
    #3
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  4. Brum

    Brum Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Indeed. If they go the same way as the Aspinall gorillas then it's either going to be several dead gibbons or being confined to an island. I personally feel that these animals should have been distributed to zoos rather than being shipped out to face an uncertain future. :(
     
    Last edited: 19 Jan 2018
    Brum, 19 Jan 2018
    #4
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  5. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    I like how the first sentence of the article is "Cheeky gibbons have finally been released into the wild after travelling more than 7,000 miles to the Indonesian jungle." and then the third sentence is "The apes were flown over 7,300 miles to a primate rehabilitation center near Bandung, Indonesia, where they were released into enclosures."
     
    Chlidonias, 19 Jan 2018
    #5
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  6. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    The gibbon rehabilitation and release programme has been going on at Bandung for many years. That these particular gibbons came from Howletts is incidental. Unlike the gorilla release this is actually a working model.
     
    Chlidonias, 19 Jan 2018
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  7. Brum

    Brum Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Thanks for the information, I did honestly think it was another Damien Aspinall vanity project. In that case I take back my original comment, though I would like to see the gibbons spread to more collections still. ;)
     
    Brum, 19 Jan 2018
    #7
  8. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    Well it still kind of is - he is just using the established centre in Java to facilitate it.

    I don't know if the gibbon individuals sent to Java were surplus or better off being retained in the captive population. If they are actually surplus then I have no objections at all; if they are valuable then they (or at least some of them) should have been retained.

    Perth Zoo releases surplus Sumatran Orangutans into the wild which certain Zoochatters object to, but in my opinion surplus Orangutans should be used for reintroduction experiments. Releasing captive-bred animals is very different to releasing formerly-wild animals (and both are different to releasing human-raised pet apes). If zoos are supposed to be "saving animals for the future" then there need to be reintroduction experiments. Perth's reintroductions are done through the reintroduction schemes already in place in Sumatra.

    Gorillas should also be used for reintroduction attempts because there are loads of surplus Gorillas, but I don't know if there are any real programmes in place for that. Simply throwing Gorillas out into the forest is only going to result in a bunch of dead Gorillas.
     
    Chlidonias, 19 Jan 2018
    #8
  9. Brum

    Brum Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Which is what has happened previously if I remember correctly. That was the main reason my heart sank at first.

    I also don't know if they were surplus or not but it wouldn't surprise me to find out they're needed to support the captive population. Let's be honest, DA doesn't really seem bothered about other collections but does like to look good in the media.
     
    Brum, 19 Jan 2018
    #9
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  10. lintworm

    lintworm Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    The population of Javan gibbons is not exactly big outside of the Aspinall collections, though it has been growing slowly in the past years, there are still only very few holders in Europe.
     
    lintworm, 19 Jan 2018
    #10
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  11. Brum

    Brum Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Indeed, only nine collections including Aspinall's. One of those collections is Kiev, anyone know where they came from? I don't see Aspinall sending them to what is (by all accounts) a very shoddy place.
     
    Brum, 19 Jan 2018
    #11
  12. Pertinax

    Pertinax Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    I think Orangutans are a very good example of a species that merits and lends itself to releases into the wild. They breed extremely freely in captivity and I'd far rather see the surplus used in reintroduction projects than introduced to yet more zoo holdings. I also think they must be pretty much at saturation level in captivity nowadays.
     
    Pertinax, 20 Jan 2018
    #12
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  13. pipaluk

    pipaluk Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Just a few changes I noticed on my visit to Howletts on 4/3/18:

    Signage for the African Wildcat has been removed, though the enclosure looked like it was occupied by something. Margay signed in next enclosure which formally held an elderly Ocelot .
    Iberian Wolves moved to the enclosure near the new Gorilla buildings which previously held Dhole & Timber Wolf before that. European Wolves (2 seen in old Iberian Wolf enclosure )

    A Cheetah enclosure has been constructed at the end of the deer park , opposite the lion-tailed macaques.

    A lot of the bushes appear to have been cut back along the mansion side of the woodland path and much better views of the enclosures on that side at the moment (albeit from a distance ). Saw a Heck's Macaque for the first time in a few visits.
     
    pipaluk, 8 Mar 2018
    #13
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  14. Quincey

    Quincey Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Quincey, 19 Mar 2018
    #14
  15. zootiger

    zootiger Well-Known Member

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    Do Howletts still have wild dogs or have they been replaced by wolves?

    Also in terms of the small cat set up, do Howletts still have lynx (know there are 2 snow leopards now in that enclosure) and any news whether they still have ocelot or wildcat?

    Thanks!
     
    zootiger, 1 Apr 2018
    #15
  16. pipaluk

    pipaluk Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    No Wild Dogs or Lynx on my visit last month!
     
    pipaluk, 1 Apr 2018
    #16
  17. zootiger

    zootiger Well-Known Member

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    Also any news if they still have their serval?
     
    zootiger, 2 Apr 2018
    #17
  18. pipaluk

    pipaluk Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    A serval was signed in the usual enclosure, but not seen on my visit last month.
    As indicated earlier, there were no signs for the Wildcat or Ocelot though.
     
    pipaluk, 4 Apr 2018
    #18
  19. Dormitator

    Dormitator Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    On my visit at the end of February the serval was there, but I must have walked past the enclosure half a dozen times without seeing it.

    As pipaluk says, nothing for lynx, wildcat, wild dogs or ocelot.
     
    Dormitator, 4 Apr 2018
    #19
  20. Tankyboi

    Tankyboi Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Howletts today announced the passing of shibi the wild born elephant at aged 42 due to heart failure
     
    Tankyboi, 9 May 2018
    #20
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