The Zoos of Sandwich

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Rare Species Conservation Centre



I spent just under three hours at the Rare Species Conservation Centre and saw two of the shows/feedings – namely the Palawan Binturong Meet and Greet and the Sun Bear Feeding and Talk.



Although several particularly unusual species are off-show, the collection is full to the brim with rarities and is a must visit for anyone interested in rarer species – hence the name – however there are a fair few species that act as main attractions for those who don’t appreciated a barely visible ball of fluff that you can just about make out as a Fanaloka. These were Sun Bears, Malayan Tigers, Red-ruffed Lemurs (the only species that I thought was boring) the most active and visible Clouded Leopard that I have ever seen, Smooth-coated and Giant otters. Although these species are unusual and rare, they also provide the appeal for the average zoo visitor.



Overall, I thought the quality of enclosures was very good, though there were a few enclosures that I thought were a bit small - most notably the very small Hyacinth Macaw enclosure. In terms of the general feel and landscaping of the zoo though, I thought it was very good overall. I thought the first half that you see was fantastic, that being the indoor building and the area where the overhead walkway is. The planting was very nice and I liked the design and the look of the exhibits which I thought were fantastic.



Then outside is a small area with a few exhibits dotted around such as for lemurs and then through a pathway is a larger area of the zoo which is more open lawn with the enclosures for the Single-wattled Cassowary, Giant Otter, Malayan Tiger, Maned Wolves and Caribbean Flamingo. This is an open lawn with some nice planting with nice enclosures around it though there was a lot of construction going on and several half-finished bits which took away from the overall feel, though development is of course good, and once the construction is finished, this area will match the high standards of the rest of the zoo.



A couple of other points: As far as I could tell, the raised walkway was only accessible at the Sun Bear feeding once per day; I thought this was rather odd. And the viewing for some of the animals was very difficult such as the Fanaloka and the Owston’s Palm Civets. Though to look at it positively, it’s better than either species being off-show. The main complaint I have though is the signage. The quality of the signs themselves was good but many of the enclosures had a different species in them to the signs and half the enclosures seemed to be signed for binturongs with all sorts of other things in them (Rusty-spotted Cats, Hyacinth Macaws and Red-ruffed Lemurs were all signed for Binturongs). There were also lots of enclosures that were unsigned including Cassowaries, Maned Wolves, Giant Otters etc. and I overheard some people say that the zoo could really do with more signs – and I agree.



I thought the RSCC was fantastic overall, I really enjoyed my visit and I left with a very good impression of the whole place 😊.



Wingham Wildlife Park



I visited Wingham Wildlife Park on the Afternoon of the 3rd of August after RSCC earlier in the day and I spent about three hours there. My overall impression of the place wasn’t as positive as my impression of RSCC. I didn’t think that Wingham was bad necessarily, but I felt the place was a bit too typical and I didn’t really think “Wow, that’s cool” in terms of the exhibits as much as I would have liked.



The collection was comprised of quite a few star species, these being lions, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars, mountain lions, wolves, lots of lemurs and various other primates, crocodiles, meerkats, otters tapirs, wallabies etc. There were also a fair few more unusual species though such as a few unusual birds, Spix’s Night Monkeys, Little Red Flying Foxes, Genets etc. But all of these were held in rather boring enclosures, with lots of standard paddocks and mesh cages and things that you can see in lots of other zoos. There were a few nicer bits – namely the large lake with an island for mandrills, the walkthrough flamingo area and the tropical house, but the majority of the zoo was pretty standard. I think the zoo was good for its main target of younger families though because there were lots of play areas etc. but it could have been better overall with things as simple as some more natural climbing opportunities for the primates or even a few trees or plants and water features in many of the enclosures.





Overall I didn’t like Wingham as much I could have. It was definitely worth visiting though, even if just for the few particularly unusual species and the one or two nice exhibits. It’s not a bad zoo in my opinion, just not as good as it could be and it fell a little short of my expectations after the huge signs saying it has “more species than any other Kent zoo” and the good first impression from the entrance area.

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