insideKENT Magazine Issue 70 - January 2018 | Page 44

DAYSOUT
A day out at
THE HEMSLEY CONSERVATION CENTRE
THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF SMALL VILLAGES IN KENT, AND EACH ONE HAS
ITS CHARMS. WHAT EACH ONE DOES NOT HAVE, HOWEVER, IS ITS OWN
MINI ZOO. THAT HONOUR GOES TO FAIRSEAT NEAR MEOPHAM, WHICH IS
HOME TO HEMSLEY CONSERVATION CENTRE, A SMALL BUT PERFECTLY
FORMED ANIMAL SANCTUARY. BY LISAMARIE LAMB
When we arrived we were
surprised by just how much there
is to see there, and as soon as you
step through the fun, jungle-
esque opening, you are
immediately surrounded by
creatures of all shapes and sizes.
Our mission was to meet a keeper
at ‘base camp’ and then to feed
the lemurs (it’s also possible to
feed meerkats, kinkajous,
porcupines and others). Never
having been quite so up close
and personal to actual, real life,
wild animals (even if they were
small and fluffy and very, very
cute), I was a little nervous about
what to expect. Don’t lemurs have
sharp teeth? What about their
claws? Do they eat meat?
Questions, questions…but
thankfully our guide was full of
knowledge. Yes, lemurs have
sharp teeth and claws, but they’re
also herbivores, and, as long as
we stuck to the rules (no stroking,
no sudden movements) all would
be fine.
We were each handed bowls of
salad for the lemurs and then
taken through the zoo to where
the little guys lived. They were
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two boys called Kevin and Isaac
who had been taken in from
another zoo because they had
been the only males in the troop
and the females had started to
push them out so they couldn’t
have food. Feeding lemurs is a
funny old business. Or at least it
was with Kevin and Isaac. They
were pickier than I had imagined
they would be, choosing only the
bits of salad that they fancied,
holding each leaf up in their tiny
hands and inspecting it. Not
stroking these boys was a hard
task; it’s so very tempting.
When the feeding was over, there
was plenty of time left to explore
the rest of the zoo. Animals there
include a civet (we saw it eat a
whole chick – a little stomach-
churning but strangely
fascinating all the same); three
terrapins named Bill, Ben and
Bertha; marmosets; meerkats; a
prehensile tailed porcupine;
white lipped tamarins; skunks; a
rusty spotted cat; a range of
different reptiles and insects and
a gorgeous array of colourful
birds. There’s more to come too
– over the next few years there
are plans to
extend the site
massively, and
incorporate
monkeys in a
walkthrough
exhibit, otters, a
clouded leopard,
and a Geoffrey’s
cat. There will
also be a picnic
area that will
include
walkways for the
lemurs who will be able to venture out and sunbathe above people’s
heads! It is a huge task to undertake but they aim to have everything
ready for summer 2018.
Finally, if you’re going for a fun day out at Hemsley Conservation
Centre, you can round it all off with a lovely cream tea made at Flick’s
Tearoom next door.
www.hemsleyconservationcentre.co.uk
GET 10% OFF EXPERIENCES AT
HEMSLEY CONSERVATION CENTRE
Just quote ‘KENT10’ when booking.
Valid until 1st June 2018.