Whipsnade Zoo
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
Dunstable
Bedfordshire
LU6 2LF
Tel: 01582 872 171
About Whipsnade Zoo
The UK is renowned for its cutting edge work in the field of zoology, and for the collections of animals that it has nurtured over the decades. One of the most impressive for a family day out is the zoo at Whipsnade, not far from Dunstable, Bedfordshire. Whipsnade Park Zoo family attraction was renamed Whipsnade Wild Animal Park and, more recently, has become ZSL Whipsnade Zoo (run by the Zoological Society Of London). But whatever its name, the vast area of breathtaking parkland and state of the art enclosures is a spectacular location for its animal residents, who bask in stunning vistas across the Bedfordshire countryside. Ticket holders to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo can enjoy it too, and because the sprawling family attraction is so extensive (at 600 acres), most visitors to the family attraction drive around it. ZSL Whipsnade Zoo is a charitable trust as concerned with conservation as much as providing a great family day out for ticket holders, and it co-operates in its ongoing programmes with its sister zoo in London’s Regents Park.
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo traces its origins to the Zoological Society of London’s founding in 1826 by Sir Stamford Raffles, with a mission statement of animal conservation and protection of their natural environment. The ZSL created London Zoo before eventually seeking a site for a larger, wild estate in the country. After seeing the New York Bronx Zoological Park early in the 20th century, the ZSL Secretary, Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell, proposed the purchase of Hall Farm, on the Dunstable Downs north of the metropolis. It was revamped and, in 1926, the ZSL enclosed its farmland, built roads and landscaped the park with trees.
By 1928, the family attraction was ready to receive its first animal exhibits, including three pheasants, five red jungle fowl, muntjac, llamas, wombats and skunks. ZSL Whipsnade Zoo opened to the public in 1931 and, two years later, a white lion was carved into the Dunstable Downs (following the ancient British tradition of white horses and other animal signatures) and, uniquely for a zoo, this feature of the family attraction can be seen from the air. It still lies on the hillside, below the penguin enclosure.
Ticket holders to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo can see resident animals roaming through extensive paddocks and also get up close and personal with them in glass and steel housings.
As well as sight-seeing by car or on foot, ticket holders on a family day out to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo can view the inhabitants of the large enclosure area by means of the narrow-gauge railway on site, the Great Whipsnade Railway. Additionally, there’s a free ZSL Whipsnade Zoo bus service that courses about the park, while ticket holders in their own cars can take in the Asian zone, with its steppe and Continental flatlands, populated by herds of animals totalling 2500+ individuals. Among them are
wallabies, peacocks and a host of slithering, preening and flying species in the reptile, primate and insect houses and the Discovery Centre.
Furthermore, ZSL Whipsnade Zoo boasts a whole host of larger animal species, notably a pride of African lions and their cubs, which roam the Lions Of The Serengeti zone, along with numbers of impressive elephants and powerful rhinos. Another fun feature of a family day out to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo is the walk-through lemur enclosure, opened in 2007, which has hoards of the furry creatures in the canopy around, guaranteed to raise a smile. Equally entertaining are another major draw of a family day out to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, the sealions. They are fed at regular intervals and put on a good show, the natural entertainers that they are.
Additionally, for twitchers there is a whole panoply of interesting and often rare birdlife to view, including Indian peafowl, macaws, cranes and parrots. Besides these feathered friends, the rain forest is represented by mammals such as Chinese water deer, while prairie marmots skip across larger enclosures given over to giraffes and other larger mammals. Finally, there’s a special farm exhibition where ticket holders can come to grips with more familiar domestic species.
Furthermore, visitors on a family day out to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo can learn about the history of the family attraction, including the purchase in 1932 of specimens from a traveling menagerie - which saw many of the larger creatures droving from Dunstable railway station! During the Second World War, the zoo took in animal evacuees from London’s Regents Park Zoo, though they were threatened at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in 1941, when a number of German bombs rained down on it. The only casualty was a young giraffe that died of the shock from the explosions – which was hardly surprising. However, despite ZSL Whipsnade Zoo’s trials and tribulations, it retained Britain’s non-indigenous animal populations through the War years, and three giant pandas returned to London in 1945 served to boost the nation’s morale. Ticket holders at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo can still see the bomb craters from the War, which were converted into ponds for birdlife.
In common with numerous large British wildlife attractions, ZSL Whipsnade Zoo is an independent body with no central government funding and is hence reliant on selling tickets to survive, along with Gift Aid scheme donations. This funds ZSL Whipsnade Zoo’s ongoing conservation efforts, and the family attraction also maintained its profile via ITV’s filming of the Primeval series on location at the family attraction in 2007.
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo is one of the country’s top wildlife attractions and a fascinating and fun family day out. It should be high on the list of must-see’s for any visitor to or indeed within the UK, especially those with children. It offers a great family day out that the weather cannot put a dampener on and can be enjoyed by everyone.