i am thinking about visiting london or whipsnade but i have not been to either what one is the best or most interesting and what can i expect to see. thanks.
london or whipsnade
- Thread starter banham.tiger
- Start date
IanRRobinson
Well-Known Member
Well, what do you like seeing, and what haven't you seen that you most want to? Whipsnade has Asian Elephants, White and Indian Rhino, Common and Pigmy Hippo, Giraffe, Grevy's Zebra, four species of wild cattle, and a lot of deer and antelope. London has few ungulates but does have Malay Tapir, Vicuna and Okapi. It also has the only Bearded Pigs in the UK.
Both sites have Lions and Tigers, but only Whipsnade has bears (Brown and Sloth), plus Wolverines, Cheetah and Lynx. London has Hunting Dogs.
London has far more primates (but the ZSL Chimps are at Whipsnade). Neither site's bird collection is that special IMHO, but London does have a fine reptile collection (the male Komodo dragon is a magnificent beast), a big aquarium that has fine keepers and an outdated building, and an invertebrate collection that is world-class.
London can be reached without too much difficulty by public transport. Whipsnade without a car is an arduous experience. The latter is also VERY big, and bleak in the extreme in unpleasant weather.
Any serious UK zoo enthusiast ought to visit both, although during the winter months London would be a more comfortable experience.
Both sites have Lions and Tigers, but only Whipsnade has bears (Brown and Sloth), plus Wolverines, Cheetah and Lynx. London has Hunting Dogs.
London has far more primates (but the ZSL Chimps are at Whipsnade). Neither site's bird collection is that special IMHO, but London does have a fine reptile collection (the male Komodo dragon is a magnificent beast), a big aquarium that has fine keepers and an outdated building, and an invertebrate collection that is world-class.
London can be reached without too much difficulty by public transport. Whipsnade without a car is an arduous experience. The latter is also VERY big, and bleak in the extreme in unpleasant weather.
Any serious UK zoo enthusiast ought to visit both, although during the winter months London would be a more comfortable experience.
I would agree with Ian, I think it very much depends what your interests are and the time of year you are visiting. I don't think you could really compare the two to say which is better.
London has far more indoor exhibits, so unless your planning on going to Whipsnade in the next few weeks, it may be better to delay that to the spring.
From a purely personal viewpoint, i prefer Whipsnade these days, probably because i'm more interested in mammals and London's reptile house, aquarium & invertebrate house don't impress me as much as they do some members.
London has far more indoor exhibits, so unless your planning on going to Whipsnade in the next few weeks, it may be better to delay that to the spring.
From a purely personal viewpoint, i prefer Whipsnade these days, probably because i'm more interested in mammals and London's reptile house, aquarium & invertebrate house don't impress me as much as they do some members.
my main interest are big cats and great apes i also like bears so i think it will be whipsnade . do they have keeper talks like colchester?
They have a few keeper talks, which seem to change around on roughly a monthly basis, though the penguin feed is always daily throughout the year.
The number of talks doesn't compare to Colchester, but i don't think anywhere can compete on that score!
they are very good at colchester 
how many lions does whipsnade have ? i know they have a new male tiger and a small group of chimps .
how many lions does whipsnade have ? i know they have a new male tiger and a small group of chimps .
they are very good at colchester
how many lions does whipsnade have ? i know they have a new male tiger and a small group of chimps .
As i said we are agreed, nowhere compares to Colchester for talks( number of them anyway!).
Whipsnade have a pair of lions with 4 or 5 of their now adult offspring.
Pair of Amur Tigers & 6 or 7 chimps.
yes i would like to see londons reptile collection as i believe it will be very interesting. but i have never seen indian rhinos so that must be a must. thanks.
they are very good at colchester
how many lions does whipsnade have ? i know they have a new male tiger and a small group of chimps .
Seven Lions. A male, three females and three others which I think may be maneless/castrated males but not certain. They are all together.
Six chimps, 4 males, 2 females.
karenZOO
Well-Known Member
Do both
We did them both in 2 days at the beginning of October on a detour home from Marwell.
My partner really wanted to see the new tiger territory although the tigers were still separate after the death of the cub a couple of days earlier. We did get to have a good chat to the staff about the little mite
Was nice to the see the gorillas with yet another male.
Yes we were very impressed with Tiger territory with all the newness, information boards and bronze statutes and saw some training BUT we visited Whipsnade the next day and with just some trees and a fence and the luxury of a boardwalk now we know which one wins hands down for us Sitting on a bench by the tigers drinking overpriced frothy coffee on a week day in October = bliss.
We did them both in 2 days at the beginning of October on a detour home from Marwell.
My partner really wanted to see the new tiger territory although the tigers were still separate after the death of the cub a couple of days earlier. We did get to have a good chat to the staff about the little mite
Was nice to the see the gorillas with yet another male.
Yes we were very impressed with Tiger territory with all the newness, information boards and bronze statutes and saw some training BUT we visited Whipsnade the next day and with just some trees and a fence and the luxury of a boardwalk now we know which one wins hands down for us
Sitting on a bench by the tigers drinking overpriced frothy coffee on a week day in October = bliss.yes i think whipsnade do have castrated males
Whipsnade is essentially a collection of large mammals in large paddocks, with some large birds and a few small mammal, reptile and fish exhibits (mostly in the Discovery centre). The rural setting is beautiful too.
Regents Park has a limited range of large mammals, but good collections of birds, reptiles, amphibia, fishes and invertebrates plus interesting zoo architecture (new, historic, good and bad plus lots in between).
Both are well worth visiting, but if I had to choose between them I would visit Regents Park.
Alan
Regents Park has a limited range of large mammals, but good collections of birds, reptiles, amphibia, fishes and invertebrates plus interesting zoo architecture (new, historic, good and bad plus lots in between).
Both are well worth visiting, but if I had to choose between them I would visit Regents Park.
Alan
IanRRobinson
Well-Known Member
One other thought: unless you have pots of cash, take a packed lunch and flask. The catering is VERY expensive. At London there are places to find food nearby in Camden Town but Whipsnade is a very small village and as far as I am aware it doesn't have any shops. In other words, be prepared!