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News Archive
Below are the news reports for Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, covering significant events concerning the animal collection, such as births, arrivals, departures, and deaths.
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park Details
Birth: 19 October 2008
A baby female Drill (a type of Baboon) has been born, to parents Bibundi and Gorbi. This is Bibundi's third baby in as many years and is great news for this endangered species, which is threatened by habitat loss in the wild.
Birth: April 2008
A female baby Western Lowland Gorilla called Tiya has been born, to parents Tamki and Djala. She is being hand-reared by keepers at Howletts after unfortunately being rejected by her mother, who was also hand-reared.
Birth: February 2008
A baby male Malayan Tapir called Copasih has been born to mother Lidaeng.
Other births include: an Agouti, a Blackbuck Antelope, and a Red Lechwe calf.
Arrival: December 2007
Yoda, a six year old male Red Panda has arrived from Blackpool Zoo to join the existing (seven year old) female Shu Fang, as part of the international breeding programme for this endangered species.
Birth: December 2007
A baby Black and Gold Howler Monkey has been born, to mother Valerie. It will not be possible to determine the baby's sex until it as weaned.
Arrival: October 2007
A male Rhino Iguana called Brig has arrived from London Zoo. The species is under threat in its native Caribbean Islands due to introduction of non-native species and hunting for food and the pet trade.
Arrival: September 2007
Four male Coatis have arrived.
Arrival: 22 May 2007
A pair of Scottish Wildcats called Sid and Skye have arrived. They are one of Britain's rarest mammals, with only about 400 left in the wild. The original threat to their survival was persecution as a pest as a result of the establishment of gaming estates in the Victorian era. It has since been proved that game birds form only a very small part of their diet, and the biggest threat today is from hybridisation with domestic cats. Port Lympne will be coordinating the Stud Book for this new nationwide breeding programme.
Birth: May 2007
Two female Barbary Lion cubs, called Aswad and Buni, have been born, to parents Saffiya and Suliman. The Barbary Lion only exists in captivity; it has been extinct in the wild since the 1920s. The new babies are therefore important news for the global conservation programme.
Birth: February 2007
A litter of 11 African Hunting Dogs (also known as Cape Hunting Dogs or Painted Dogs) has been born. The species is one of Africa's most endangered mammals, with only around 4000 left in the wild, and still declining.
Birth: February 2007
Baby Howler Monkey born. The mother, Tolkein, successfully underwent an operation 18 months ago to restore her sight, having become totally blind from cataracts as a juvenile.
Birth: December 2006
A female Black Rhino calf has been born, the third for mother Etna.
Arrival/Birth: September 2006
A small herd of Roan Antelope (2 males and 3 females) have arrived from Marwell Zoo, and have moved into the mixed species African Experience enclosure. One of the females has also since given birth to calf.
Death: August 2006
Europe's oldest captive monkey, 33 year old Tamale, a Diana Monkey, has sadly passed away. During her 20 years at Port Lympne, she gave birth to numerous babies, and was a great-grandmother.
Birth: August 2006
Three baby Meerkats have been born, the first since the group of adults arrived in May 2005.
Birth: July 2006
Seven baby Yemen (or Veiled) Chameleons have hatched, and hopefully more will follow.
Birth: July 2006
A baby male Rothschild Giraffe named Karamoja has been born. Mum Amber and her son will soon be joining the rest of the herd in the African Experience enclosure.
Birth: 16 June 2006
A rare Red Panda cub has been born, the third for its mother, Li Yee. Unfortunately, both previous cubs did not survive, but the third has so far been doing well.
Birth: 16 June 2006
Crested Porcupine twins have been born.
Birth: 2 May 2006
A baby Javan Langur (a type of monkey rarely seen in captivity) has been born.
Birth: March 2006
A female baby Drill (a type of baboon) has been born to parents Gorbi and Bibundi, resulting in one of the rarest families on the planet, let alone the UK. The species is one of the most critically endangered in the world, and may become extinct in the wild within ten years, if its decline continues at the present rate.
Birth: 22 February 2006
A female baby Malayan Tapir has been born, the seventh for the park in 15 years.
Birth: January 2006
Two Black Rhino calves have been born in less than a month. The first, a female, was born just before Christmas, and the second, a male, arrived just two weeks later.
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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