Dunstable and Whipsnade Downs Dunstable and Whipsnade Downs Dunstable and Whipsnade Downs is a 73.4 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dunstable in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1987 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and part of it is owned by the National Trust. Dunstable Downs is the highest point in the east of England, and it has five thousand year old burial mounds and a medieval rabbit warren. The site is a 3 kilometre long steep escarpment between
London Zoo an idea inspired by Hamburg Zoo, and led to newer designs to many of the buildings. Mitchell also envisaged a new park to the north of London, and in 1926 Hall Farm, near to Whipsnade village, was bought. In 1931, Whipsnade Wild Animal Park opened, becoming the world's first open zoological park. The first woman to be a curator at the London Zoo was Evelyn Cheesman, in 1920. In 1962, 'Caroline', an Arabian oryx, was lent to Phoenix Zoo, Arizona in the world's first international co-operative breeding programme. Today, the zoo participates in breeding programmes for over 130 species. At