Martii
Well-Known Member
I just saw that hope Billy will be ok now separated from his brothers?
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo News 2025
- Thread starter Lafone
- Start date
It seems a real shame that a once thriving collection of antelopes at Whipsnade has dwindled down to the small and ever shrinking collection we see today!
We did the elephant experience a few weeks ago and the keeper suggested it was in progress
It was announced their move was going to take place this Spring.
LTigert
Member
Hi everyone
You might have seen me pop-up in a few other UK zoo threads, but I am a Canadian planning a large trip across the UK for the summer of 2026, with the goal of visiting many zoos. The UK has many zoos with species not commonly kept in Canada which I hope to see.
I have a few questions about Whipsnade, and I was wondering if anyone would be able to answer them.
1. Aardvarks are still listed on the stock list for 2024, and they are still included on the map / the app map, but looking at the media gallery, there doesn't seem to be any recent pictures of them. Are they still at the zoo? Or are they just always hunkered down somewhere?
2. Is it necessary to take the train for the Passage Through Asia to get a good look at many of the species? Or can you see most of them from the footpath?
3. On that note, it seems the habitats for many of the animals are fairly large (great to see!) and I was wondering if a 300 mm lens would cut it for most of the viewing?
4. How accessible is the zoo from downtown London? Is it possible to take a train in the morning and arrive by opening? Or would it be best to stay closer by?
I guess other than that, what animals are the most likely to no-show during a visit, and any other tips-and-tricks for the zoo would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
You might have seen me pop-up in a few other UK zoo threads, but I am a Canadian planning a large trip across the UK for the summer of 2026, with the goal of visiting many zoos. The UK has many zoos with species not commonly kept in Canada which I hope to see.
I have a few questions about Whipsnade, and I was wondering if anyone would be able to answer them.
1. Aardvarks are still listed on the stock list for 2024, and they are still included on the map / the app map, but looking at the media gallery, there doesn't seem to be any recent pictures of them. Are they still at the zoo? Or are they just always hunkered down somewhere?
2. Is it necessary to take the train for the Passage Through Asia to get a good look at many of the species? Or can you see most of them from the footpath?
3. On that note, it seems the habitats for many of the animals are fairly large (great to see!) and I was wondering if a 300 mm lens would cut it for most of the viewing?
4. How accessible is the zoo from downtown London? Is it possible to take a train in the morning and arrive by opening? Or would it be best to stay closer by?
I guess other than that, what animals are the most likely to no-show during a visit, and any other tips-and-tricks for the zoo would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
Great to see you are getting the chance to visit a selection of UK zoos. Whipsnade is my favourite place so hopefully my answers help.
- I’ve always found the Aardvarks the most active I’ve ever seen. However being Aardvarks that may not be the case for you. If they are not out in the enclosure, you can go inside there house.
- The Passage Through Asia is best seen from a car in my opinion, however that probably isn’t possible for you. The new footpath at Monkey Forest does give a pretty decent view of it but maybe trying the Train as well may be a good idea.
- I’m an incredibly amateur photographer (if even that!) so hopefully someone else may be able to answer that. You can get pretty good views of most of the enclosure in my opinion, and you can always try again later in your visit
- I believe there is a bus service from Luton to the zoo and Luton is on the same line out of London. However living so close to Whipsnade, I’m probably not the best to answer that so hopefully again someone else can!
In terms of tips etc, I personally wouldn’t follow the road around the Zoo unless you have a car, it’s much more rewarding to walk through the paths and the beautiful surroundings. There are a few things not on the map but I think the app does a decent job at working alongside it. Monkey Forest is absolutely magnificent but I would go via the house first and then walk the trail.
Any other questions I’ll be happy to answer and I hope some of these help!
With a 300 mm lens, you should be fine. More is always better but its ok.
The connection to London downtown was a pain in the ass when I used public transport a few years ago (it was like a 3 hour trip that involved a tube ride, then changing into a train and then the bus). Staying closer to Whipsnade is a good idea!
The connection to London downtown was a pain in the ass when I used public transport a few years ago (it was like a 3 hour trip that involved a tube ride, then changing into a train and then the bus). Staying closer to Whipsnade is a good idea!
RE where to stay, the last time I went, I travelled from London to Luton and then got a taxi, booking it to pick me up for the return trip. It was about £14 each way. I think Uber is around there now too. The bus takes ages, and isn't hugely reliable, from experience.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Some great comments so far.
Definitely echo the winding route tip as it allows appreciation of the excellent wooded areas and feel of the zoo. But as it’s such a large zoo I’d pick your target animals if you have them and use the map to plot your route around those.
Depending on when you visit there are different talks on and the board inside the entrance has them.
I’d recommend taking in a bird show - quite a few of the birds like pied crow all the eagles and the falcons as well as turacos and burrowing owls for example are held off show and so it’s the best way to see them and the flight with the macaws etc at the end of the show is worth it in itself. There can be up to three a day in peak times with different birds in each so easy to plan to catch one on your route.
I’d add that it is worth taking the train as you see the far side views of the elephants and rhinos as well as camels and horses and it gives a good sense of scale. But you can see most of the area from the paths now.
Lens wise longer is better but I think you’ll be fine with 300mm being conscious of having to fit it in your bags. If you had a 1-400mm I’d recommend that (longer isn’t that much fun to pack I know!) I go longer still for whipsnade but I’ve got the car. If bringing one lens for all zoos and not doing wildlife then it feels 1-300 or 1-400 territory zoom wise (or a bright 70-200 if you can crop pixel wise) or the equivalent small prime particularly as you have to lug it around.
Travel wise I’ve given a couple of people from here a lift to Whipsnade and other local zoos in the past from a couple of different stations out of london and I’m there regularly, so if it were to coincide dates wise I’d be pleased to help our transport wise. The taxi plan probably works best otherwise.
Aardvarks are definitely still there, and tend to be more active towards the end of the day. We've found they often get fed in the enclosure in the last hour before close so are about then.
We haven't taken the car in (yet) but did do the train a few weeks ago, which is nice, but I think the car is the way to see most of the species the best. You can sometimes see some of the deer from the path for Monkey Forest, and the horses/camel from the rhino path.
My OH has a fairly frequently used lens for zoo photography which he informs me is 150-600 zoom. He reckons you'd get away with a 300.
I always drive to the zoo from nearby, because the public transport has been so decimated. Having a look around, from London, you can get to Luton Parkway station, but then the bus from Luton to Whipsnade is from a bus station which is elsewhere in Luton. Zoo website suggests a taxi from Luton Parkway. I'd say stay in/near Luton personally, although Thameslink (the train line) does tend to more reliable than mainline railway stations.
No-show animals... I have to say, most trips I see most animals I want to. The cheetahs can be shy, but there will be different cheetahs by the time you visit so maybe they'll be bolder. The lynx can also be shy, but tend to be more active towards the end of the day (like the aardvark). Bongo and sitatunga obviously not the most courageous of animals, but actually not that hard to spot of late.I'd actually say the reindeer are the least obvious, mainly cause their field dives off the hill so they can easily be out and about and unspottable.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Had a really enjoyable day out at Whipsnade today, it was sunny but very cold (some people were in T Shirts, I remove my hat to them, well actually no I wouldn't as it was too cold). The Whipsnade lion weeding and tidying has completed and it stood out really well in the sun on the drive up through the villages.
Got some great views of the older lion cubs shortly after opening, when Winta brought the three down to the far end of the enclosure near the waterbucks, where they played about in the sun. Such a treat to have cubs again - the first good views I have had of them.
One of the best ways to tell it is Springtime at Whipsnade is the annual bumper crop of Bennetts wallaby youngsters and there were a lot of females with one in the pouch. In one of their favourite sun spots (behind the wolverine enclosure) I counted 10 females with joeys at different stages. Great place to have a seat on a log and watch the wallabies in peace and quiet when the zoo is busy.
I noticed the Harlequin duck sign is still up on the pond so that may mean a restock of those is planned.
The sign on the visiting white rhino is back, though further along the fence than it was and I could only see the generic 'Southern white rhino' one. I couldn't see the name sign about Mazungu being a temporary visitor. He was running about though which was impressive to watch.
The meerkats were playing chase using the whole of their enclosure which was nice to see. One of them caught what looked like a common toad under one of the logs, which ended very badly for the toad but the mob then enjoyed it between them.
Managed to see the Gemsbok calf who was out and about in the end stable yard in the (still shut) Antelope house (rather poor iphone pic, but what a great looking calf). Mother was out having some grass in the main paddock and all the antelopes were being chased around by the youngest rhino so probably not turning this calf out just yet to keep it safe.
Work was going on outside the Scimitar Horned Oryx enclosure with some tree felling on the corner, pathway work and what looks like bug hotels going in with new wildlife signs. Work continues on the refurbishment of the toilet block near the tiger enclosure and a couple of food stands have gone in on the new hard standing nearby. There were also new tall climbing poles being concreted in in the lemur enclosure (the ring tails were all out watching that going on) to encourage the Black lemurs to spend more time outside.
Got some great views of the older lion cubs shortly after opening, when Winta brought the three down to the far end of the enclosure near the waterbucks, where they played about in the sun. Such a treat to have cubs again - the first good views I have had of them.
One of the best ways to tell it is Springtime at Whipsnade is the annual bumper crop of Bennetts wallaby youngsters and there were a lot of females with one in the pouch. In one of their favourite sun spots (behind the wolverine enclosure) I counted 10 females with joeys at different stages. Great place to have a seat on a log and watch the wallabies in peace and quiet when the zoo is busy.
I noticed the Harlequin duck sign is still up on the pond so that may mean a restock of those is planned.
The sign on the visiting white rhino is back, though further along the fence than it was and I could only see the generic 'Southern white rhino' one. I couldn't see the name sign about Mazungu being a temporary visitor. He was running about though which was impressive to watch.
The meerkats were playing chase using the whole of their enclosure which was nice to see. One of them caught what looked like a common toad under one of the logs, which ended very badly for the toad but the mob then enjoyed it between them.
Managed to see the Gemsbok calf who was out and about in the end stable yard in the (still shut) Antelope house (rather poor iphone pic, but what a great looking calf). Mother was out having some grass in the main paddock and all the antelopes were being chased around by the youngest rhino so probably not turning this calf out just yet to keep it safe.
Work was going on outside the Scimitar Horned Oryx enclosure with some tree felling on the corner, pathway work and what looks like bug hotels going in with new wildlife signs. Work continues on the refurbishment of the toilet block near the tiger enclosure and a couple of food stands have gone in on the new hard standing nearby. There were also new tall climbing poles being concreted in in the lemur enclosure (the ring tails were all out watching that going on) to encourage the Black lemurs to spend more time outside.
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Lafone
Well-Known Member
Might have been a moment of madness but for Harlequin ducks please read Mandarin ducks! Missed the edit window.
The Black Lemurs were going out into the little holding enclosure beside the house so hopefully they will become more and more confident. It just takes time (sometimes a long time) for animals to get used to there surroundings.
We saw the baby gemsbok!! Absolutely adorable.
Also:
- scimitar-horned oryx in the front paddock which gave us better views of them
- the lion cubs very playful and showy towards the end of the day - they seemed to have been out most of the day but on the brow of the hill and down it so viewing wasn't as easy. Just before close, there they are, gambolling around having a fine old time
- practice flights of the Bateleur eagle (Bruno), 2 hyacinth macaws and the two great grey owls (Bilbo and not sure of the other name) - much more successful than when we saw them fly them in the actual bird show last year when the owls were not cooperative!
- no sign of the spotted deer still
Also:
- scimitar-horned oryx in the front paddock which gave us better views of them
- the lion cubs very playful and showy towards the end of the day - they seemed to have been out most of the day but on the brow of the hill and down it so viewing wasn't as easy. Just before close, there they are, gambolling around having a fine old time
- practice flights of the Bateleur eagle (Bruno), 2 hyacinth macaws and the two great grey owls (Bilbo and not sure of the other name) - much more successful than when we saw them fly them in the actual bird show last year when the owls were not cooperative!
- no sign of the spotted deer still
Lafone
Well-Known Member
I believe the other owl is Gandalf.
Pandaboi
Well-Known Member
I visited the zoo today and was wondering how many Indian Rhinos were left at the collection? I was informed by a keeper walking by that one of the females (Behan?) passed away. I know they had another female pass away recently as well.
The Asian Elephants were fascinating to watch and are always my favourite animals to see when I go to Whipsnade.
Monkey Forest is a brilliant exhibit. I counted around 13 individuals (may be wrong as they were very active when I saw them)
The Asian Elephants were fascinating to watch and are always my favourite animals to see when I go to Whipsnade.
Monkey Forest is a brilliant exhibit. I counted around 13 individuals (may be wrong as they were very active when I saw them)
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Baringogiraffe12
Well-Known Member
If indeed they’ve lost both their adult females, it leaves them with just the one left, the bull Hugo. A damn shame if they are down to one left, the two females were genetically important having arrived from Nepal & have produced numerous offspring since their arrival at the back end of the 1990’s.
This is such sad news and so soon after they lost the other female.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
That's sad news to hear when Behan was doing well after the cancer treatment and a shame for the keeper team after Beluki dying, if it is the case.