Port Lympe:Review

If you cannot afford to go on safari in Africa and still want to have an authentic, thrilling experience may I suggest Port Lympe Wildlife Park, which is located in Kent near Hythe. I have not visited the Park for nearly twenty years, and I must admit when I returned I was mightily impressed. The Park itself focuses on giving tourists a safari style adventure. With over 100 hectares for the game to wander in, it is by far one of the more spacious wildlife collections you will visit in the UK. Along with that they have a very large selection of carnivores as well as other large animals which are involved in breeding programs to be released back into the wild. No Matter what you think of Zoos, Port Lympe is definitely one of the leaders in wildlife conservation. Many species of animal at the park had been reintroduced back into the wild or put on the conservation program across the world. Successful reintroduction included, European Bison, Lowland Gorilla and Black Rhino. 

Many People know of the plight of the Black and White Rhino's across Africa. Port Lympe has a successful breeding program, I counted several calves with their mothers around the park and they have even reintroduced a couple back to the wild. However its a slow process and making Rhinos takes time. Realistically too many Rhinos are being slaughtered than can be made. In the future it maybe that we only ever see a rhino in a wildlife park like this. Its great that Port Lympe are trying and its amazing to see the magnificent beast. Its distressing to think though that they are slaughtered for their horns which in turn is the same material that a fingernail is made from.

On the main drive on the safari, you enter a very large pen, here there is a huge variety of animals, on a good day you should expect to see: Giraffe, Ostrich, Eland, Lechwe, Mountain and Grevys Zebra, Wildebeest, Defassa Waterbuck and Roan Antelope, They are all thrown in together and can be seen from the trucks. The food stations are located around the road, therefore you may be exceptionally lucky to get up close and personal with some of Africa's big Game. The park can boast having Africa's Largest and Second Largest Antelopes on Site, with Eland and Roan Antelope respectively.

Top Left Roan Antelope, Top Right Giraffe, Bottom Left Eland, Bottom Right Roan Antelope.

Once you have completed the tour of Africa, you can choose to continue on foot through the predator section. Animals Such as: Wild Dog, Cheetah, Pallas Cat, Clouded Leopard, Snow Leopard, Fishing Cat, Scottish Wild Cat, Ocelot, Barbary Lion and Bengal Tiger can be found in this section. However the only slight disappointment is a lot of these animals are quite shy and nocturnal so the actual chance of seeing some of them could be quite slim.

 Top Left Snow Leopard, Top Right Clouded Leopard, Bottom Left Bengal Tiger, Bottom Right Cheetah

The Cat collection is very impressive, with plenty of rare and endangered species benefiting from Port Lympe's work. After Wandering through this section you head up to the primate section and you will also pass the Malyan Tapir. There are many different Primates here including: Diana Monkeys, De Brazza's Monkey, Drills and Langur Speices, with the Lowland Gorillas being the real big attraction at the end. Once completing this part of the zoo you then have all the rhino Paddocks, to wander leisurely around and in these paddocks their are some other wildlife including: Blackbuck, Axis Deer and Red Pandas, which are charismatic and adorable to watch. I would say that all of the animals are pretty well cared for and have quite spacious enclosures. The zoo is set in a quiet peaceful place therefore the animals do not have to deal with any traffic or busy bustle. The price is reasonable and I would recommend heading down to this wildlife park to see the work that is carried out and meet the cast of endearing animals that feature. It is mostly mammal orientated so if you are into Insects, Reptiles, Birds or fish this may not be the place for you. Watch out for my second blog on Port Lympe having a look at the conservation projects at the park.