Celebrating 95 years of inspiring a love for wildlife and the great outdoors, Whipsnade Zoo has released a gallery of iconic images from its history today, on its birthday (23 May 2026).
The nostalgic gallery includes a photo of two elephants and two camels being walked to Whipsnade Zoo from Dunstable railway station, a trio of brown bear cubs being hand-reared by zookeepers, and one of the earliest photographs of the zoo’s iconic chalk white lion from 1933.
The zoo is run by international conservation charity ZSL, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. ZSL opened Whipsnade on Sunday 23 May 1931, pioneering Europe’s first ‘open zoo’ –the first wildlife park in Europe designed specifically to give large herd animals huge habitats in which to roam.
The UK’s largest zoo, Whipsnade is a hive of conservation activity, from vital conservation breeding programmes for endangered species like the scimitar-horned oryx, Asian elephants and white rhinos – Whipsnade Zoo has welcomed 60 white rhino calves as part of the conservation breeding programme. It’s also the hub for ZSL’s globally-important freshwater fish conservation projects, for species including the Extinct-in-the-Wild Potosi pupfish.
1932 – Camel rides at Whipsnade Zoo. Photo by ZSL 
Whipsnade Zoo’s chalk white lion, excavated in 1933 (c) ZSL Large. Photo by ZSL 
1952 – Flamingos at Whipsnade taken on Whipsnade Zoo’s 21st Anniversary. Photo by ZSL 
1964 – Zookeepers bottle feed three brown bear cubs at Whipsnade Zoo. Photo by ZSL 
1970s – Whipsnade railway with Southern white rhinos. Photo by ZSL 
1970s – Zookeeper Andy White with Penguin Chick. Photo by ZSL 
1971 – African wild dogs born at Whipsnade. Photo by ZSL 
1974 – Przewalski horse and foal. Photo by ZSL 
1977 – Polar bear Mosa and cub patu. Photo by ZSL 
1983 – Grevy’s zebra foal born at Whipsnade. Photo by ZSL 
1983 – Kodiak bear and cub (c)ZSL Large. Photo by ZSL
Find out more at www.whipsnadezoo.org
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