Whipsnade Zoo is a zoo located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. Its original proper name was 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,^[1] but in March 2007 it was renamed ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.^[2] It is owned by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and is a companion to ZSL London Zoo in Regents Park, London. Dunstable is a town in the county of Bedfordshire, with a population of 33,805 (2001 census). ... Giraffes in Sydneys Taronga Zoo A zoological garden, zoological park, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures and displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred. ... Whipsnade is a small village in the county of Bedfordshire, with a population of 457 (2001 census). ... Dunstable is a town in the county of Bedfordshire, with a population of 33,805 (2001 census). ... Bedfordshire (abbreviated Beds) is a county in England that forms part of the East of England region. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... The Zoological Society of London (sometimes known by the abbreviation ZSL) is a learned society founded in April 1826 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Lord Auckland, Sir Humphry Davy, Joseph Sabine, Nicholas Aylward Vigors and other eminent naturalists. ... The giant London Zoo aviary London Zoo, or more correctly London Zoological Gardens, is the worlds oldest scientific zoo. ... Regents Park (officially The Regents Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. ...

Description

The park covers 600 acres (2.4 km²), 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. A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. ... Dunstable Downs are part of the Chiltern Hills, in southern Bedfordshire. ... The Chiltern Hills are a chalk escarpment that stretches in a south-west to north-east diagonal from Goring-On-Thames to Luton, but is most prominent in Buckinghamshire. ...

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 'African' area where some animals are allowed to roam free. There is also a narrow-gauge train service, the Great Whipsnade Railway, within the park. Comparison of standard gauge (blue) and one common narrow gauge (red) width. ... The Great Whipsnade Railway is a 2ft 6in (762mm) gauge narrow gauge heritage railway that operates within the Whipsnade Wild Animal Park. ...

ZSL Whipsnade Zoo is one of Europe's largest wildlife conservation parks. It is home to more than 2,500 animals, many of which are endangered in the wild.

History

Whipsnade Park Zoo opened in 1931. Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell (ZSL Secretary 1903-1935) had been inspired by a visit to the Bronx Zoological Park and he envisaged the park as a conservation centre.^[3] It was the first open zoo in Europe to be easily accessible to the visiting public. Some 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. 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... This article is about the zoo, for the tv series see The Bronx Zoo (TV). ... The conservation ethic is an ethic of resource use, allocation, exploitation, and protection. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... Peacock re-directs here; for alternate uses see Peacock (disambiguation). ... Species , Patagonian Mara , Chacoan Mara The maras (Dolichotis) are a genus of the cavy family. ... Ancient aboriginal rock painting of a wallaby in Kakadu National Park in Northern Australia. ...

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 locusts. Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ... Families 15, See classification A primate (L. primus, first) is any member of the biological order Primates, the group that contains all the species commonly related to the lemurs, monkeys, and apes, with the latter category including humans. ... {{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Insects | fossil_range = Carboniferous - Recent | image = European honey bee extracts nectar. ... Genera Crocodylus Osteolaemus Tomistoma A crocodile can be any of the 14 species of large, water-loving reptiles in the family Crocodylidae (sometimes classified instead as the subfamily Crocodylinae). ... Genera Acromyrmex Atta Leafcutter ants are social insects found in warmer regions of Central and South America. ... Desert locust Nymph of Locust Schistocera americana with distinct wing-rudiments Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria Locust from the 1915 Locust Plague For other uses, see Locust (disambiguation). ...

Developments

Lemur at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo

In 2005 the zoo opened "Lions of the Serengeti" which presently has 3 African lions (1 male & 2 females) that bred early in 2006. Binomial name Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758) Distribution of Lions in Africa Synonyms Felis leo (Linnaeus, 1758) The lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae and one of four big cats in the genus Panthera. ...

Lions of the Serengeti

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. Superfamilies and Families Cheirogaleoidea Cheirogaleidae Lemuroidea Lemuridae Lepilemuridae Indriidae Lemurs make up the infraorder Lemuriformes and are members of a class of primates known as prosimians . ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Chris Moyles Show is the current BBC Radio 1 breakfast show in the UK, and has been since Chris Moyles became the stations breakfast show presenter in 5 January 2004. ...

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. Binomial name Rhinoceros unicornis (Linnaeus, 1758) Indian Rhinoceros range The Indian Rhinoceros or the Great One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is a large mammal found in Nepal and in Assam, India. ... Binomial name Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758 Asian Elephant range The Asian or Asiatic Elephant (Elephas maximus), sometimes known by the name of its nominate subspecies (the Indian Elephant), is one of the three living species of elephant, and the only living species of the genus Elephas. ...

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 Deers and Wallabies. Macaws, Cranes and Parrots were previously given the freedom of the park but not at present. For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals primarily characterized by the presence of mammary... Binomial name Pavo cristatus Linnaeus, 1758 The Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus also known as the Common Peafowl and the India Blue Peafowl is one of the species of bird in the genus Pavo of the Phasianidae family known as peafowl. ... “Fawn” redirects here. ... For the Australian national Rugby Union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, see Australia national rugby union team. ... Genera Ara Anodorhynchus Cyanopsitta Propyrrhura Orthopsittaca Diopsittaca Macaws are large colorful parrots, classified into six of the many Psittacidae genera: Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Propyrrhura, Orthopsittaca , and Diopsittaca. ... A crane can be any of the following things: A crane is a piece of industrial machinery used for working on tall buildings or for lifting containers onto and off of ships in port. ... For the runtime engine for Perl 6, see Parrot virtual machine. ...

Funding

The park and ZSL receive no government funding, and rely on the Gift Aid charity donation scheme. A large slice of the income for the charity comes from Gift Aid paid against entrance fees. Gift Aid is a scheme to enable tax-effective giving by individuals to charities in the United Kingdom. ...

Prices are variable according to the season. Children under 3 are free.

Media

Whipsnade was one of the sets for ITV's Primeval, where a ferocious predator from the future kills a lion and 3 people. It has been suggested that Channel 3 (UK) be merged into this article or section. ... Cast of Primeval Primeval is a British science fiction drama television series produced by Impossible Pictures for ITV. First broadcast in early 2007, the series has been renewed for a second series by ITV, to be shown in 2008. ...

Photo Gallery

Elephants being led around ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1632x1224, 431 KB) Elephants at Whipsnade I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

Indian elephant being led on a walk at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.

Penguin area at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1632x1224, 468 KB) Penguin pen at Whipsnade I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

References

1. ^ L. Pendar, Whipsnade Wild Animal Park: My Africa, Book Castle, 1991, ISBN 1-871199-80-8 (h/b), ISBN 1-871199-65-4 (p/b), page 8.
2. ^ "Whipsnade a zoo again", Dunstable Gazette, 7 March 2007, page 19.
3. ^ L. Pendar, op. cit., page 15.

March 7 is the 66th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (67th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the CE era. ...

External links

• ZSL Whipsnade Zoo website