24th October to 1st November 2026
Poo Detectives
Our keepers have discovered some rather unusual tricks around Howletts Wild Animal Park.
Mystery poos have been left near animal enclosures, and nobody is admitting responsibility. This October half term, we need a team of sharp-eyed young investigators to help us crack the case.
Pull on your wellies, hold your nose and prepare to become a Poo Detective!
Wild Halloween fun for little monsters in Kent
From 24th October to 1st November 2026, Howletts will be filled with playful Halloween fun created especially for younger families.
Explore the Creepy Cave, look out for pumpkin-filled Feasts for Beasts and enjoy frighteningly tasty seasonal food and drink. There will be plenty of Halloween surprises to discover, without anything too scary for little monsters.
Best of all, when you book online, kids go free, making it a frighteningly good-value family day out near Canterbury this half term.
Can you solve the Poo Detectives mystery?
Someone has tricked our keepers by leaving suspicious poos around the park. But which animals are responsible?
Pick up your Poo Detectives activity sheet and follow the Halloween trail around Howletts. At each stop, you'll discover clues about the different shapes, sizes and textures of animal poo.
Match each mystery poo to the correct animal and see if you can identify every messy suspect.
Don't worry: there's no touching, sniffing or squishing involved! You'll only need your eyes, your detective skills and a willingness to learn some seriously strange animal facts.
Poo can tell us a lot
Animal poo might make us giggle, but it can also be very useful.
Keepers and conservationists can examine it to learn what an animal has eaten, whether it is healthy and sometimes even where it has travelled. In the wild, poo can help researchers study animals that are difficult to spot.
It also contains plenty of clues for budding Poo Detectives. Here are a few fun animal poo facts to get your investigation started:
Elephants produce enormous amounts of poo
That's hardly surprising when you consider how much grass, bark, fruit and other vegetation they eat.
Gorilla poo helps forests grow
Seeds from the fruit they eat can pass through their bodies and be deposited elsewhere, complete with their own natural fertiliser.
Neat and tidy
Some animals pile their droppings up in special toilet spots called latrines.
Plant-eaters and meat-eaters produce very different poo
Herbivore droppings often contain visible pieces of grass and other plant material, while carnivore poo is usually darker and smellier.
That last fact might be useful during your investigation, so remember it!
The suspects are waiting
Our animals won't be giving away their secrets easily. You'll need to visit the suspects, study the evidence and examine every clue before making your final decision.
Will you recognise an elephant-sized deposit? Can you tell a neat pile of pellets from the work of a big cat? And which animal will be responsible for the trickiest poo of them all?
There's only one way to find out.
Join us at Howletts Wild Animal Park this October half term and become one of our very first Poo Detectives.
Little Monsters Go Free
Enjoy wild animals, playful Halloween activities and one very silly mystery from 24th October to 1st November 2026. The case of the mystery poos is almost open. Do you have what it takes to crack it?
Book online - kids go FREE this October half term
