Another Zoo

This time it's Port Lympne in Kent (pronounced Lim). Like Howletts it belongs to the John Aspinall Foundation, which was set up by the eponymous casino magnate, friend of Lord Lucan of the murder-your-nanny-and-disappear-off-the-face-of-the-earth fame.

Nice to know that the money lost by idiots can go to a good cause, such as the endangered species breeding programme.

The baby meerkats were really up close. They are tiny - like mice. Yet they scrabble around in the dirt trying to be like the grown-ups, all the time making little squeaky peeps. Never in all my life have I seen anything so cute.

The two youngest tigers were very fond of the keeper, running to the wire when he called, and rubbing round his hand through the wire. The keepers are no longer allowed to go in with the big cats after they are 18 months old for health and safety reasons. The big Siberian tiger at Howletts, Balkash, said by the keeper who raised him to be the biggest tiger he has ever seen (and the Siberian are the biggest tiger species anyway, so Balkash is probably the biggest tiger in the world) killed a keeper, probably without intent, but by dint of his sheer size and power. It was a case of, follow the regulations or close down. Keepers who worked there particularly for the contact left at that time.

These two young Barbary lions are only three years old. The female was injured when a tiny cub, and now has a rather shambling gait. There was a time when they thought she would never walk, but physio from her keeper and some aqua therapy gave her back some use of her injured front leg, and a scan revealed an unknown spinal injury from the early bite that pushed her spine against her spinal cord, giving her knock-knees at the back. She has 60% use of her limbs, but the experts say she could have 80% if only she were not a drama queen. She had so much early contact with humans she doesn't believe she should be in with the lions, but she has taken to her boyfriend, who though aggressive with the keeper she loves, is gentle with her. She has been deemd fit to breed, and has in fact given birth and try to care for a cub, but sadly it was stillborn. Now she's getting ready to breed again.

Barbary Lions are extinct in the wild.