Zoo Thousand music Festival Venue
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park
Every day is different at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park and there's always something new to see and do. Set in 600 acres, including a magnificent mansion and 15 acres of landscaped gardens the park offers a totally wild day out!
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park is home to the largest breeding herd of Black Rhinos outside Africa as well as Siberian and Indian tigers, African elephants, small cats, monkeys, Barbary lions and many more rare and endangered species. The world's largest gorillarium, "The Palace of the Apes" is home to a family group of Gorillas, fed at 12 noon and 3:00pm daily.
Make your visit to Port Lympne even more memorable by taking a day safari on The African Experience! Take your seat and head out into the wild where you?ll see giraffe, black rhino, zebra, wildebeest, ostrich, antelope and other wonderful wildlife roaming free as if on the plains of Africa. Subject to availability and a small additional charge. You could even stay overnight at the fantastic new Livingstone Safari Lodge for an authentic African safari adventure!
Port Lympne Day Safari
Hop on one of our specially commissioned safari vehicles and take a 90 minute safari ride during your visit to the park. The on-board commentary will tell you all you need to know about the fascinating creatures and surroundings of The African Experience.
Explore the Discovery Zone at the halfway stop, where you'll meet some remarkable creatures from all over the world such as snakes, tarantulas, chameleons and zebra mice. You'll also find out some fascinating facts about our planet and why so many precious wild animals face extinction.
Pop into the Serengeti Bazaar for a fabulous choice of presents and mementos of your trip. Enjoy tasty hot and cold snacks on the terraces overlooking the African Experience before boarding the safari vehicle and heading out onto the plains once more.
Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks were set up by the late John Aspinall with the aim of protecting and breeding rare and endangered species and returning
to safe areas in their native homeland. World leaders in conservation the Parks have so far returned to the wild Przewalski's horses, black rhino, Sumatran rhino, Cape buffalo, ocelots, pythons and gorillas.
The John Aspinall Foundation Mission
"Our commitment is to conservation, through captive breeding, education, and reintroduction"
John Aspinall started his famous animal collection in 1957 when he bought Howletts Wild Animal Park. In 1973 he bought Port Lympne Wild Animal Park to help house the growing groups of animals. Today the two wild animal parks are home to over 1000 animals and 90 different species.
Now through The John Aspinall Foundation, a registered charity, we work to ensure that the late John Aspinall's innovative work in protecting and breeding wild animals should continue. As well as the two wild animal parks in Kent, The John Aspinall Foundation manages two gorilla rescue and rehabilitation projects in central African countries of Gabon and Congo, where we have successfully reintroduced over 50 gorillas.
It is a sad fact that humans are likely to cause the extinction of a quarter of all known species in the next 20 years, unless we work to protect them now. If just one species disappears' many others may suffer - we all rely on others to survive, upsetting this balance can put many in danger. Imagine a world without animals?
The Charity Includes
- Project Protection des Gorillas - Gabon in Bateke Plateau National Park
- Project Protection des Gorillas, Congo in Lefini Reserve
- Howletts - Our parks are very different from conventional zoos. It is not always possible to return animals to the wild and sometimes the only hope for the long term survival of certain species is to be able to live and breed in conditions as close to their natural habitat as possible. Conservation at home
- Port Lympne - Our parks are very different from conventional zoos. It is not always possible to return animals to the wild and sometimes the only hope for the long term survival of certain species is to be able to live and breed in conditions as close to their natural habitat as possible. Conservation at home
- JAWS - J.A.W.S is a non-profit corporation, organized under the laws of the State of California, to further and advance the interests of The Aspinall Foundation in the USA.
Our Objectives Are
- To halt the extinction of rare and endangered species in the wild
- To continue to provide the most natural environment possible for the animals in both parks
- To re-introduce these animals back to their wild habitat where this is possible
- To continue to be world leaders in animal husbandry and breeding
- To be a partner and catalyst to conservation efforts at home and abroad
- Increasing public understanding of animals and their welfare and the issues involved in their conservation
Animal Welfare
Don't worry NO animals will be caused any distress whilst staging Zoo8. The festival will be taking place on the grasslands arena which is separate to the wildlife park and well away from the animals. We take animal welfare very seriously which is why this event is in partnership with the Aspinal foundation to help raise funds to help endangered species.... It also enables festival goers to visit the park and see the animals and the great work that is done at Port Lympne.
Until Zoo Thousand and Eight
GALLOWS (FRANK CARTER)
“We are very, very excited to be there, it’s probably the best line up I have seen for a festival all year. I mean even just on the grime front, Mitchell brothers, Wiley and you’ve got Stanton Warriors and Pendulum, it’s just going to be a really good weekend. So I think we are playing Friday but if there are still weekend tickets available then I think we are gonna snap them off ya. I want to be there for the whole weekend”.
HADOUKEN (JAMES)
“Zoo8 looks quality and we are looking forward to playing this year, we’re
definitely gonna check out acts such as The Cribs, Gallows, Does it Offend
You, Yeah and hopefully the Zebra enclosure”.
THE HOLLOWAYS
“ZOO8. What a pun. If this zoo themed festival turns out to be half as much fun as I’m hoping then it'll be mega. We might have to write a head banging song for the giraffes. There's some top bands I’m looking forward to like Ash, The Young Knives and The Hives. There seems to be a glaring omission in the line up though - no Zootons?”
Metronomy, The Teenagers, New Puritans and Yousef are among the latest acts confirmed for Zoo Thousand And Eight Festival.
Metronomy will take to Friday's main stage, alongside headliner Mark Ronson and many more, while The Teenagers will perform on the Saturday ahead of bill toppers The Cribs.
The first ever Zoo Thousand festival takes place at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, Kent, from 4–6 July 2008.
Additions have also been made to the smaller Tap ‘N’ Tin stage with We Start Fires playing live and Cut Copy DJing.
Meanwhile Liverpool DJ Yousef joins the line-up for the Devious / Pukka Up tent on the Friday and These New Puritans replace Lupen Crook as headliners for the Suburban Kings tent.
The Hives are set to headline Zoo-themed festival Zoo Thousand and Eight.
Taking place at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park between July 4 and 6, the band will play the festival, which will also see performances from Gallows and Ash.
Speaking to NME.COM, The Hives' singer Pelle Almqvist said he was letting the zoo's animals influence his choice of setlist for the gig.
"We're a bit scared that the gorillas will start a riot if we don't play the right songs," he explained. "We've never played a zoo before you know? Once we played at a festival in (hometown of) Fagersta in a field and their were cows there. Did they like our music? Well cows are pretty chilled out generally aren't they? So yes, I think so."
Almqvist said that although she thought it was fine for some of the bigger animals to listen to their set, it didn’t seem right on the smaller ones. He said: "I don't think it’s fair on the small birds - they'll be pulverised by our sound."
The band are also looking forward to playing on the same bill as Ash.
"Last time we played a festival together we had a wrestling match together and we ended up grappling them with a chair," explained the singer. "I think we are ready for a re-match - I'm ready."