Port Lympne Wild Animal Park

Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve near the town of Hythe in Kent, England is set in 600 acres and incorporates the historic Port Lympne Mansion, and landscaped gardens designed by architect Sir Herbert Baker, for Sir Philip Sassoon.

The estate with an Edwardian mansion near Lympne was purchased in 1973 by John Aspinall; the intent was to solve lack of space at the nearby Howletts Wild Animal Park. It was opened to the public in 1976. Since 1984 the animal parks have been owned by a charity . The collection is known for being unorthodox, for the encouragement of close personal relationships between staff and animals, and for their breeding of rare and endangered species. The park now includes tigers, lions, leopards, gorillas, bears, giraffes and the UK’s largest herd of black rhinos. The facility also plans to release some of the animals into the wild.

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