Whipsnade Wild Animal Park is a zoo located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. It is owned by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and is a companion to London Zoo in Regents Park, London.
The park, covers 600 acres (2.4 km²), and can be located from miles around and from the air because of its large white lion chalk hill figure carved into the side of the Dunstable Downs (part of the Chiltern Hills).
Whipsnade Wild Animal Park 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.
Whipsnade opened in 1931. Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell (ZSL Secretary 1903-1935) envisaged the Park as a conservation centre and it was the first open zoo in Europe, to be easily accessible to the visiting public. The animals have sizeable enclosures, or, like the peacocks, the South American mara and Australian wallabies, roam freely around the park.
At 2004 the entry fee was £10.00 for each adult.
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