Howletts Wild Animal Park is a small zoo near Canterbury that is noted for its African wildlife, which includes elephants, gorillas and lion-tailed macaques.
Although it’s not quite as popular as the safari park at Longleat or the zoos in Chester and London, it is an excellent place to see primarily African wildlife and it is also a great place to visit if you’re travelling with children.
The park is operated by the Aspinal Foundation, which focuses on the conservation of rare and endangered species and it operates a successful breeding programme.
Along with the animal park at Port Lympne, which is also run by the Aspinal Foundation, Howlett’s has been featured on the CBBC children’s programme Roar, which follows the lives of the animals who live here and the keepers who look after them.
What to see at Howletts Wild Animal Park
Howlett’s is comprised of over 40ha (100 acres) of parkland and it is home to over 400 animals across 50 species. The animal park has a strong focus on African wildlife, although there are also animals from Asia and South America.
The park is most famous for being home to the world’s largest collection of western lowland gorillas. It is also home to the United Kingdom’s largest breeding herd of African elephants and one of the world’s largest breeding groups of lion-tailed macaques.
Other primates include the white-naped mangabey, Javan gibbon, Sulawesi macaque, eastern black and white colobus monkeys, De Brazza monkeys, pygmy marmoset, red-bellied tamarin, Siamang gibbon and dusky, Francois and Javan langurs.
There are also big cats including leopards, lions and tigers.
Other animals at the zoo include eastern black rhinoceros, Brazilian tapir, Kent’s only giant anteaters, capybara, black, black and white ruffed, crowned, red-bellied and ring-tailed lemurs.
In addition to the park’s wildlife exhibits, Howlett’s also has several other attractions including the Animals of the Ice Age exhibit.
The Animals of the Ice Age exhibit features life-size replicas of long-extinct animals from prehistoric times including a giant sloth, mammoths and a sabre-toothed Smilodon.
Visiting Howletts Wild Animal Park
Howletts Wild Animal Park is in a rural setting around 5.5km (3½ miles) east of Canterbury. It is easiest to reach if you’re driving, it’s around a 10-minute drive from the city centre, although you can also get here by public transport by taking bus 43 to Littlebourne and then walking 15 minutes to the zoo.
It is a fairly expensive attraction; however, it is a half-day experience so the cost per hour is more reasonable than some other attractions that you can see in a much shorter time. It’s also important to note that your entry fees go towards funding the conservation of rare and endangered species.
If you live in Kent, or are a regular visitor, then you may want to consider the annual pass, which gives you unlimited entry to both Howletts Wild Animal Park and Port Lympne Port Lympne Wild Animal Park including a 20% discount on food and drink across both parks. Annual passes cost £75 for adults and £65 for children.
In addition to the standard visitor experience, Howletts also operates a number of animal encounters that allow you get closer to the animals, see behind the scenes and even experience a day as a keeper. Note that not every experience operates every day. Animal encounter experiences at Howlett’s include:
| Gelada baboon encounter | This half-hour experience allows you to get into the gelada baboon enclosure. | £15, admission to the park is not included. |
| Giant anteater encounter | This half-hour experience allows you to get up close to the park's giant anteaters with the opportunity to hand feed them. | £45, admission to the park is not included. |
| Gorilla encounter | This half-hour experience allows you to learn more about western lowland gorillas and also participate in feeding. | £75–85, admission to the park is not included. |
| Lemur encounter | This half-hour experience allows you to get up close to the park's lemurs and hand feed them. | £45, admission to the park is not included. |
| Lion encounter | This half-hour experience allows you to learn more about the park's lions. | £120, admission to the park is not included. |
| Red River Hog encounter | This half-hour experience allows you to get up close to the park's red river hogs. | £15, admission to the park is not included. |
| Rhino encounter | This half-hour experience allows you to get up close to black rhinos with the possibility of hand feeding them. | £50, admission to the park is not included. |
| Snow leopard encounter | This half-hour experience allows you to learn more about the park's snow leopards. | £100, admission to the park is not included. |
| Tiger encounter | This half-hour experience allows you to learn more about the park's Sumatran tigers and there is also an opportunity feed them. | £120, admission to the park is not included. |
| Junior Ranger | This 5½ experience allows 7–12-year-olds to meets the keepers and participate in a variety of activities including meeting and feeding the animals. | £240 for a child and accompanying adult and £120 for each additional person. Admission to the park is not included. |
| Junior Ranger short course | The Junior Ranger short course is a shorter version for eh Junior Ranger experience. The 2½-hour experience allows 7–12-year-olds to meets the keepers and participate in a variety of activities including meeting rhinoceros and lemurs. | £120 each for a child and accompanying adult. Admission to the park is not included. |
| Keeper Academy | This full-day course takes 13–17-year-olds through a typical day of a keeper. | £175 per person including a Keeper Academy hoodie. Admission to the park is not included. |
| Keeper for a day | This is a grown-up version of the Keeper Academy that takes adults through a typical day of a keeper. | £295 including park entry and a £10 lunch voucher |
| Ranger's Trail | The Ranger's Trail is a two-hour guided tour of the animal park. | £50 including admission to the park. |
There is a cafe and restaurant on-site and during the peak season, there are also additional food kiosks open within the park.
The park is on fairly level ground with some gentle slopes and most areas of the park are wheelchair accessible.
Allow at least three hours to visit the park.
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