Whipsnade Zoo

ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, formerly known as Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, is a zoo and safari park located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of two zoos (the other being ZSL London Zoo in Regent's Park, London) that are owned by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats.

Description

The park covers 600 acres (2.4 km²), and can be located from miles to the north and from the air because of the Whipsnade White Lion, a large hill figure carved into the side of the Dunstable Downs (part of the Chiltern Hills) below the white rhino enclosure.

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 around the cars. There is also a train service, the 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge Great Whipsnade Railway, also known as the "Jumbo Express."

Whipsnade

Coordinates: 51°51′03″N 0°32′06″W / 51.8509°N 0.5349°W / 51.8509; -0.5349

Whipsnade is a small village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, about 2.5 miles South-South-West of Dunstable. It is the home of Whipsnade Tree Cathedral, as well as the famous ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, and is the namesake of Whipsnade Park Golf club, although it is actually in neighbouring Dagnall.

The local Wildlife Trust manages a small nature reserve north of the village called Sallowsprings (51°51′21″N 0°32′21″W / 51.8559°N 0.5391°W / 51.8559; -0.5391 (Sallowsprings)).

Edward John Eyre, explorer of Australia, was born in Whipsnade in 1815.

A hill figure can be found in the site. The figure is shaped like a lion. It was made for Whipsnade Zoo. During the Second World War, this chalk image of a lion on Bison Hill, owned by Whipsnade Zoo, was covered with a black sheet in order not to attract attention from the German bomber planes.

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