Top 10 must see animals at Howletts Wildlife Park

With summer and the school holidays just around the corner, families will soon be flooding out into the country for days out with Howletts Wildlife Park amongst the most popular destinations.

However, spanning 90 acres of land with over 390 animals, it may be hard to decide on what animals to see first. Armed with his camera, our reporter, Liam Daysh-Holmes, paid a visit to the park to build this comprehensive list of the top 10 must-see animals.

10: African Elephants

The elephants at Howletts Zoo are hard to miss! With 13 of these gentle giants spread across four spacious paddocks, allowing for lots of movement and exercise for the herd.

It is clear these elephants are being well looked after with different environments and different substrates such as sand, grass, mud and concrete and a deep pond that cater to the elephants needs as if they are in the wild.

9: Sumatran Tiger

The tigers at Howletts wildlife park are even harder to miss, these friendly giant cats were sunbathing next to guest viewing platforms and were real posers!

The curious cats were very friendly and not shy at all, coming up to say hello to guests, it was hard not to want to get closer to these as if they are your traditional house cats.

8: African Lion (Cubs)

There are two African Lion cubs here at Howletts and they are just the cutest! One of which just loved attention on our visit to the wildlife park, sitting next to the gate looking at guests as they walked past.

7: African Lion

Living seperate to the two cubs, lives a lone male lion who when we visited was sneakily hiding in the trees, observing the guests within the bushes. However, it didn’t take long for this lump of a cat to come out in the sun for everyone to see.

6: Fishing Cat

Hiding somewhere within the bushes is the Fishing Cat, that had us sitting for nearly 30 minutes waiting for it to come out and it was worth the wait! This tiny cat may have looked grumpy but was so cute and we definitely wanted to take it home with us.

5: Clouded Leopard

The clouded leopard was one of the cheekiest animals that we encountered on our visit to Howletts, hiding all day whenever we walked past and we were just about to give up… Until it hit feeding time! Then this cat went crazy, jumping around its enclosure, and its keeper stopped to talk to us about this animal as he was feeding it.

This really made our visit and we couldn’t believe it, this cat was absolutely gorgeous.

4:  Serval Cat

It wasn’t long until we encountered another cat that we wanted to take home and that seemed to replicate your generic household feline.

These cats were easy to miss though! Hiding within the brushes for most of the day until we were lucky enough to capture one that was out bathing in the sun after meal time.

3: Western Lowland Gorilla

The gorillas at Howletts wildlife park are the real stars of the show, with 28 of these animals being spread over the park in different families and individual groups.

It is definitely worth mentioning that Howletts are leading the way in breeding programs for this endangered species, so going to Howletts and seeing these gorillas, you really are contributing to a good cause.

2: Bat-Eared Fox

Where do we even start with these… Whilst quite scittish, these foxes were absolutely adorable and curious about us when we approached them in the corner of the park (We don’t think they got much love or attention from guests that day). Initially hiding away from, the Bat-Eared Foxes came towards the barrier, despite being spooked by sudden noise or movement, but eventually grew very comfortable laying next to the barrier listening to us talk to them with their big ears…! Although they didnt seem to want to talk back.

1: Crowned Lemur

Our number one animal  that you must visit at Howletts Wildlife Park is definitely the walk-in lemur enclosure. Getting to walk about an interactive enclosure with the different species and families of lemurs was absolutely adorable! Nearly everyone has seen a ring tailed lemur but getting to walk next to and get up and close with these crowned lemurs was an experience we won’t forget.

Was it worth the visit?

We can say without a doubt that a visit to Howletts Wildlife Park is something that everyone should consider, especially if you live in Kent. It really isnt any old zoo, this is a wildlife park where conservation is at the heart of what they do. With breeding programs and plans to help animals back into the wild, this is a park where you can know you are doing something good for the environment.