Empty Island.

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  Pertinax

• 25 Mar 2020

To my knowledge this is the island that once held Sealions and even earlier than that, Chimps but during the daytime only. I am not 100% clear on this though.

 

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  Benosaurus

• 25 Mar 2020

Great pictures @Pertinax and always interesting to learn what animals the enclosures have held in the past.

There are some fantastic old pictures of Whipsnade here that you may be interested in, unfortunately none of them show the island above though.

 

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  Crowthorne

• 25 Mar 2020

I'm sure I remember seeing seals in here as a young child in the late 80s/early 90s?

 

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  Tim May

• 25 Mar 2020

@Pertinax
Indeed this was definitely Whipsnade's original Chimpanzee Island.

@Crowthorne

Yes various pinnipeds were kept here: in additition to the California sea lions, this enclosure has also housed southern sea lion, common (harbour) seal and grey seal.

 

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  Tim May

• 25 Mar 2020

@Pertinax
Since my last post, I have checked some old Whipsnade guidebooks; the 1939 and 1940 guides both state that: "In the centre of the island is an electrically-heated house" so presumably the chimps were housed in that building overnight.

 

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  Pertinax

• 25 Mar 2020

@Tim May I also looked for the brick 'kennel' type housing nearer the road boundary that held smaller cats and the Spectacled Bears at one time, but could not find it. Maybe that has been demolished now?

 

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  Tim May

• 25 Mar 2020

@Pertinax
Yes I think it has been demolished but you cannot get close enough to that pathway now to confirm