Flash
13/9/21
Fun on Safari
In this country we have wild animals living amongst us. Can you name an animal that lives in the wild here? But in a little corner of Kent there are some very exciting animals roaming around! They are not creatures that would usually live here and it was so exciting to get so close to them.
Port Lympne
Port Lympne is a wildlife reserve and lots of the animals have plenty of space to move around so you get to go and find them in a safari jeep! The animals are not there just for everyone to see, they are also protecting and breeding endangered and vulnerable species. It is run by the Aspinal Foundation and you can learn more about what they do on their website. Some animals have been very lucky to have been sent to their natural habitats to increase the numbers of endangered animals living in the wild. You can learn more about Port Lympne on their website too.
Giraffes
While I was there I saw lots of amazing animals, but the giraffes were my favourite! I went on a giraffe safari and got so close to the giraffes and even got to feed them! The keepers could tell me the names of all the giraffes because the patterns on their coat were so different and once they pointed it out it was easy to see the differences between them.
While I was feeding the giraffes you could see their tongue was black, it’s this colour to protect it from getting sunburnt as giraffes eat for about 3/4 of the day, and use their tongues to pull the leaves from the trees.
Rhinos
Port Lympne has lots of rhinos! All species of rhinos are critically endangered so the work that Port Lympne and other places like it do is very important. 8 Black Rhinos have been taken to Africa from Port Lympne and they have had 25 babies since they have been there! While they are back in the wild they are still very much protected out there in a reserve, as they are so incredibly endangered and they need to be safe from poachers who would kill them for their horns.
Lions
Port Lympne has quite a few big cats at their reserve. The Barbary Lions they have there are actually extinct in the wild and there are only about 100 left of them living at places like Port Lympne. When I visited some very cute lion cubs had just been born!
Gorillas
The gorillas at Port Lympne are amazing to watch, some live in a family group with a huge silverback gorilla in charge of them and then other male gorillas live together in a separate part of the reserve. I saw them at feeding time and they knew what the time was because they all started to gather before the keeper had even arrived!
Gorillas are a critically endangered species and being at a place like Port Lympne helps to protect them and increase their numbers. 70 gorillas have been sent to their natural habitat and they have had 35 babies out in the wild, where they are still protected, which is just so amazing!
Camels
At Port Lympne they have some very funny camels! These camels are critically endangered so are yet another species being protected at the reserve. When I was on safari I got very close to the three camels they have there, they kept stopping all the safari jeeps by standing completely in the was and refusing to move! When the gates opened to let the jeeps through the camels were very funny at trying to make a break for it, but the keepers were very kind to them, tempting them back with food to eat.
If you are lucky enough to live near Port Lympne or their partner zoo Howletts which are both in Kent they would make a fabulous school trip location or a place for families to go to enrich children’s learning of all sorts of wild animals. I definitely learned learnt lots of new facts about the animals while I was at Port Lympne! Have a look at Howletts website too, they had elephants when I visited, which are one of my favourite animals. I can’t wait to go back there one day soon and tell you all about it.
All photos and illustrations in this blog post are Whizzbots Images.