The Discovery Centre at Whipsnade

On your next visit to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo don't miss the Discovery Centre, a tropical experience that is home to a fascinating array of species.

Visitors can take a stroll through the indoor exhibit and catch a glimpse of the dwarf mongooses or the highly endangered turtles in the Turtle Ark.

Invertebrates abound, from the locusts and praying Mantis in the desert area, through to the giant salmon-pink bird-eating spider and leaf-cutter ants in the rainforest.

Should you want to observe something with a little more snap, then the crocodile display should sate your appetite and make sure that you visit the mata-mata terrapin which lurks at the bottom of the pool, or hangs upside-down at the surface, waiting for a tasty morsel to pass by.

Look out too, for the huge Burmese python and Argentinean boas, plus marmosets, basilisk lizard and tiny poison arrow frogs, being just a few of the delights.

The saki monkeys have indoor and outdoor play areas, linked by a passage that literally runs above the visitor walkway – allowing people to see these fantastic animals exhibiting their natural behaviour at close quarters.