Jumbo run for conservation

© ZSL

Elephant keepers from ZSL Whipsnade Zoo are embarking on a mammoth run to help raise money for animal conservation.

Lee Sambrook, Andrew Durham and Gary Hampson will be swapping their wellies for running shoes when they take part in the Brighton Marathon on Sunday 18th April 2010.

In an effort to raise money for the worldwide conservation work of ZSL, the trio have been hard at work training for the run – with the help of their beloved elephants.

The keepers take the elephants on a daily walk around the grounds of ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, covering an impressive 600 acres of land.

The walks gave their fitness levels a great boost, as keeper-turned-sprinter Lee Sambrook explains: “Keeping up with the elephants on a five-mile walk is no easy task – so it’s certainly given us a head start.

"But training for the marathon is going to take a little more work than that!”

The Zoological Society of London is a registered charity, dedicated to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats.

ZSL currently has conservation projects based in over 40 countries around the world, carries out leading scientific research in the Institute of Zoology and runs both ZSL Whipsnade and London Zoos.

To help the ellie keepers raise money for the Zoological Society of London, visit www.justgiving.com/elephantkeepers and feel free to come along on the day to cheer them on!