Howletts Wild Animal Park

Bekesbourne Road, Bekesbourne, Canterbury, Kent CT4 5EL

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News Archive

Below are the news reports for Howletts Wild Animal Park, covering significant events concerning the animal collection, such as births, arrivals, departures, and deaths.

Howletts Wild Animal Park Details

Birth: July 2012

A baby Black Lemur called Kintana has been born, to parents Aprily and Gasy.

Arrival: June 2012

Three new species of Lemur have arrived in the Walking with Lemurs experience: Red Bellied Lemurs, Black Lemurs, and Crowned Lemurs. The new arrivals include breeding pairs, so it is hoped their numbers will be increased by the arrival of babies in the future.

Birth: April 2012

A baby male Javan Gibbon has been born. Great news for this, the most endangered of the Gibbon species. Between them, Howletts and Port Lympne hold about half the world captive population of this species, and with 25 successful births since 1988 are the world's most successful breeders.

Arrival: April 2012

A pair of Barbary Lions called Layla and Jabir have arrived from Port Lympne.

Birth: April 2012

A female baby Javan Langur called Malang has been born.

Birth: 27 October 2011

A baby male Brazilian Tapir has been born, to first-time mum Corumba and dad Yavari.

Arrival: Autumn 2011

A female Snow Leopard called Ziva has arrived from Banham Zoo where she was born, to join a male who also recently arrived from France. It is hoped they will form a successful breeding pair.

Depart: September 2011

Janu and Juva, two young bull Elephants born at Howletts, have moved to Port Lympne, to learn from Kruger, the mature bull there.

Birth: 15 August 2011

A baby Western Lowland Gorilla has been born to parents Tamba and Kouillou. This is Tamba's 5th baby, and the 131st for Howletts and Port Lympne.

Birth: July 2011

A male baby Gelada Baboon called Leena has been born, to parents Sereba and Agolo.

Depart: February 2011

Altay, the Siberian Tiger, who was born at the park in 2008, has moved to another zoo as part of the breeding programme for this critically endangered species..

Arrival: November 2010

A pair of Clouded Leopard cubs have arrived from National Zoo, Washington DC. The cubs will turn one in February and May next year, and they have been paired in the hope they will breed successfully once mature.

Birth: 27 August 2010

A baby male Brazilian Tapir called Mendoza has been born, to parents Wilma and Tommy, their second offspring.

Birth: 19 July 2010

Male Northern Chinese Leopard cub twins have been born, to first-time parents Ting-ting and Saian.

Arrival: Summer 2010

A one-year-old female Giant Anteater called Fidji has arrived from Beauval Zoo, France, to join Zet the male (who arrived last year) once her quarantine period is over.

Birth: May 2010

A female African Elephant calf has been born, to first time mum Justa. Justa initially rejected her calf and the keepers had to hand-rear her. However, Justa's docile temperament allowed the calf to remain in the enclosure with her mother, who over the first week or so began to show signs of maternal behaviour. After two weeks the calf actually began feeding from her mother and the keepers were able to wean her off the feeding bottle. The mother-daughter bond continued to strengthen, and at 6 weeks old they were successfully reintroduced to the herd.

Arrival: April 2010

A male Honey Badger called Tyson has arrived from Edinburgh Zoo, to join resident female Winnie and replace her long-time mate Boris, who sadly died last year.

Birth: January 2010

A baby male Heck's Macaque called Nantu has been born, the first for parents Cimot and Ully and also the first to be born in Britain, possibly even Europe. Since he was born by Caesarean, his mother did not develop any maternal instincts, so he has had to be hand-reared. He is also unfortunately not currently on show to the public.

Death: 31 August 2009

'Little Boy' the Indian Tiger, at 21 one of the Park's oldest residents, has sadly had to be put to sleep. He had been having difficulty moving around for some time, and this had become so severe that it was necessary to relieve his suffering.

Arrival: August 2009

A male Anteater called Zet has arrived from a Warsaw zoo. It is hoped that he will be joined by a female soon.

Birth: 7 July 2009

A baby Western Lowland Gorilla has been born, to mum Dihi.

Birth: May 2009

A baby Grizzled Leaf Monkey has been born, to mum Mojang and father Sianak. Great new for this Critically Endangered species.

Birth: 8 April 2009

A baby male Western Lowland Gorilla called Nkoumou has been born, to first-time mum Boma and dad Djanghou.

Birth: December 2008

A baby female African Elephant called Etana has been born, the third for mother Swana.

Birth: 3 August 2008

Three Siberian (Amur) Tiger cubs have been born, to parents Malchek and Nika. Two of the cubs are males, named Altai and Altay, the third is female and named Sayan. They are all named after mountain ranges in Siberia.

Birth: August 2008

Four Clouded Leopard cubs have been born, to two sets of parents.

Birth: August 2008

Four Iberian Wolf cubs have been born.

Birth: March 2008

Recent births include:

A Moloch Gibbon,

A Lion-Tailed Macaque

A female African Elephant, to mother Tammi.

Birth: October 2007

A very rare baby Grizzled Leaf Monkey has been born, the first for both mum Mojang and the Park. Howletts is the only zoo outside Indonesia to have this species, which is very difficult to breed in captivity. And under threat in the wild from habitat loss.

Birth: 8 June 2007

A baby Giant Anteater has been born to parents Rio and Monty. This species is endangered in the wild due to hunting.

Arrival: May 2007

A male Sifaka Lemur has arrived, one of only 20 in captivity, and the only one in the UK.

Death: May 2007

Sounda the 22 year old Western Lowland Gorilla and one of the original seven Gorillas brought from the Congo has sadly and suddenly died of peritonitis. This has left her one year old baby Oundi, who was still very dependant on her mother for protection and emotional support, alone, motherless, and extremely distressed. Keepers introduced another female and her offspring in the hope that they would bond with the baby, but were amazed when they spotted Oundi being carried about and protected by her five year old brother, Kouyou! See the Howletts website for the full version of this very touching story.

Birth: 5 April 2007

Two Clouded Leopard cubs have been born; valuable additions to this rare species.

Birth: April 2007

Three Red River Hog piglets (all males) have been born, to parents Tafika and Gosho.

Depart: November 2006

A pair of 2-year old Clouded Leopards have been moved to Phnom Tamao Zoological Garden and Rescue Centre in Cambodia. It is hoped that any offspring will be reintroduced to the wild.

Death: 15 August 2006

The magnificent male silverback Gorilla, Bitam, has sadly passed away from heart failure. He was one of the original Gorillas that began the breeding programme at Howletts, having arrived in August 1972 at about 1 year old. He has since sired 22 offspring.

Birth: 27 February 2006

A baby Moloch Gibbon has been born, a valuable addition to this the most endangered of all gibbon species. It is believed that there are less than 2000 remaining in the wild, and between them Howletts and Port Lympne are home to over half the captive population.

Notes:

Where possible, the dates given are for the event itself, but some zoos do not make this information available, when the date of announcement is used instead.

Seasons: Winter = Jan - Mar, Spring = Apr - Jun, Summer = Jul - Sept, Autumn = Oct - Dec.

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