ZSL Whipsnade Zoo is a zoo located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England.

Originally the zoo was called Whipsnade Park Zoo, which was often shortened to Whipsnade Zoo or even just Whipsnade. In 1988 the name was changed to Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, but in March 2007 it was renamed ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.

It is owned by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats, and is a companion to ZSL London Zoo in Regents Park, London.

Description

The park covers , and can be located from miles to the north and from the air because of its large white lion hill figure carved into the side of the Dunstable Downs (part of the Chiltern Hills) below the penguin and old lion enclosures.

Due to its size, inside the park, visitors may walk, use the Zoo's bus service, or drive their own cars between the various animal enclosures, or through an 'Asian' area where some animals are allowed to roam free. There is also a narrow gauge train service.

ZSL Whipsnade Zoo is one of Europe's largest wildlife conservation parks. It is home to 6,405 animals, many of which are endangered in the wild. The majority of the animals are kept within sizeable enclosures; others, such as the peacocks, the South American mara and Australian wallabies, roam freely around the park.

History

The Zoological Society of London was founded in 1826 by Sir Stamford Raffles with the aim of promoting the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. To this end ZSL London Zoo in Regents Park , London was established.

Almost 100 years later, Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell (ZSL Secretary 1903-1935) was inspired by a visit to the Bronx Zoological Park to create a park in Britain as a conservation centre.

Hall Farm, a derelict farm on the Dunstable Downs, 30 miles to the north of London was purchased by the Zoological Society of London in 1926 for £480 12s 10d. The site was fenced, roads built and trees planted.

The first animals arrived at the park in 1928, including two Amherst pheasants, a golden pheasant and five red jungle fowl. Others soon followed including muntjac, llama, wombats and skunks.

Whipsnade Park Zoo opened on Sunday 23rd May 1931. It was the first open zoo in Europe to be easily accessible to the visiting public. It was an immediate success and received over 38,000 visitors on the following Monday. The brown bear enclosure is a surviving feature from the earliest days of the zoo.

The collection of animals was boosted in 1932 by the purchase of a collection from a defunct travelling menagerie and some of the larger animals walked to the zoo from Dunstable station.

The distinctive white lion hill figure was completed in 1933.

During the Second World War the zoo acted as a refuge for animals evacuated from the Regents Park London Zoo. The celebrity giant pandas Ming, Sung and Tang were among these animals but were soon returned to London to boost morale in the capital. During 1940, 41 bombs fell on the park with little damage to the zoo structure, however a 3 year old giraffe named Boxer, who had been born at the zoo, was frightened to death by the explosions. Some of the ponds in the park are the remains of bomb craters from this period.

Areas and attractions

Discovery Centre

The Discovery centre at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo acts as a Reptile House, Primate house and Insect house. It houses crocodiles, leaf-cutter ants, small primates, and other reptiles and insects

Free-Roaming Animals

Currently the zoo has several free-roaming species of Birds and Mammals which include Indian Peafowl, Prairie Marmots, Junglefowls (the wild relative of the domestic chicken), Chinese Water Deer, Muntjac Deer, Wallabies and Mara.

Macaws, Cranes and Parrots were previously given the freedom of the park but not at present.

Developments

2005-2006

In 2005 the zoo opened "Lions of the Serengeti" which presently has 3 African lions (1 male & 2 females) that bred 4 cubs early in 2006.

Two major new arrivals include the birth of an Asian rhino calf on New Years Eve 2006 and an Asian elephant calf on 19th January 2007.

2007

At Easter 2007, the zoo opened a new walk-through lemur enclosure. This was officially opened on the 28th of March 2007 by Dominic Byrne from The Chris Moyles Show on Radio 1, who is a regular visitor to the park.

On the 12th of June 2007 a new Sealion Pup was born, and has been named Dominic after the above mentioned Dominic Byrne who is Berkeley's (Dominic the sealion's dad) biggest fan.

2008+

In February 2008 Whipsnade welcomed the new "Rhinos of Nepal" exhibit, showcasing the zoo's Greater One-horned Rhinos. It is designed to allow visitors a close view of the rhinos, whilst allowing the rhinos to live in an environment which is both safe and comfortable, even including indoor heated pools.

Easter 2008 saw the opening of Cheetah Rock, which is focused around the ZSL's conservation project in Tanzania. It includes large open viewing areas, natural surroundings and displays on the conservation programme. The new exhibit can hold up to 9 cheetahs at one time, and it is hoped that whipsnade will be able to breed a rare subspecies soon.

In May 2008 the Sloth Bears from London Zoo moved into a previously built enclosure near the asian drivethrough area.

On the 26th of July 2008 the Cafe on the Lake reopened. Its name was changed to the Wild Bite Cafe.

Daily Shows

Animal shows take place daily where the animals are the stars and these include Sea lion splash, Birds of the world and Elephantastic (New for 2007).

A number of talks also take place daily throughout the summer season including lemur talks, giraffe browse and penguin feed.

Funding

The park and ZSL receive no government funding, and rely mainly on entrance fees, memberships, its 'Fellows' and 'Patrons' scheme and various corporate sponsorships. The park takes advantage of the Gift Aid charity donation scheme.

Criticism

In 2002, a 20yr old elephant named Anna died three days after giving birth to a stillborn calf. There was an allegation that the elephant suffered painful and unnecessary surgery during the birth. The zoo claims Anna's death was due to an infection related to the still birth.

In September 2007, two former 'tea party' chimpanzees named Koko and Jonnie, moved from London Zoo to make way for The Gorilla Kingdom escaped from their enclosure. Koko followed one of the keepers back to the enclosure but Jonnie started heading towards public grounds. Jonnie was shot dead by the zoo's specially trained firearms squad for fears about public safety. The Zoo has said that at no point were any members of the public in danger. When asked why they did not use a tranquillizer instead ZSL spokeswoman Alice Henchley said "It's just standard procedure, if the animal cannot be quickly and safely recaptured it will be shot. We can't be sure with a tranquillizer ".

Filming at the Zoo

Whipsnade was one of the sets for ITV's Primeval, where a ferocious predator from the future kills a lion and 3 people.

Whipsnade is also one of the locations featured in BBC's Super Vets.

Photo Gallery

References

General references

• A set of panels outlining the history of the zoo is located in the Lookout Cafe in the park.

External links

• ZSL Whipsnade Zoo website