Meet The Animals At Whipsnade Zoo

Come face to face with the largest residents at the Zoo, the amazing Asian elephant, with a special Meet the Animals experience.

From £99 per person

This once in a lifetime opportunity will see you go behind the scenes and get up close and personal to one of our beautiful herd, hand feed them and ask our expert elephant keepers all about them. 

Your experience:

• Meet and greet one of our Asian elephants
• Discover more about this amazing species
• Opportunity to ask our expert keeper questions about the herd
• Meet the Elephants takes place Wednesday - Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays, May - September.
• Please be at the meeting point at 4.20pm, located at the large brown gate past the new elephant house.

Meet the Elephants is SOLD OUT for 2017

We do not hold a waiting list but any cancellations will be put back on sale immediately.

Check Availability

Please be aware that Meet the Elephants takes place behind the scenes and due to restrictions on group size, spectators are not permitted access to this area.

Terms and conditions

• General admission ticket or valid membership per person must be purchased to be allowed entry into the zoo and take part in the Meet the Elephants experience..
• You will be taken behind the scenes by one of our expert elephant keepers, before feeding one of our herd.
• Please listen to the keeper at all times. (Your safety as well as the welfare of all animals is their upmost priority. As such, the keeper can stop the encounter or ask participants to exit the VIP area at any time should they feel necessary.)
• Maximum of 6 participants per experience, each of whom must have a valid Meet the Elephants ticket.
• Children: must be over 3 years of age and be accompanied by an adult, no more than 2 children per adult. Each adult must also have a valid Meet the Elephants ticket.
• Appropriate closed toe footwear must be worn for the experience.
• Disabilities: Participants with learning or visual impairment must be accompanied by a carer who takes full responsibility for the adherence of health and safety and welfare protocols. Accompanying carers can enter the VIP area free of charge but must not participate in the experience.  Please note: Wheelchair access is not available for this experience.
• Pregnant/ nursing mothers who have given birth within the previous six months cannot participate for health and safety reasons.  
• Cancellations: ZSL reserves the right to alter the experience or cancel on any given day if necessary. We will endeavour to contact you via email at least 24-hours before your visit to notify you of any changes. We recommend checking your emails on the day before your visit in case we have emailed you. If these changes result in you missing the encounter or you are no longer able to attend, please contact us to discuss options.
• Turning up late will invalidate your ticket and will not be refunded.
• Bookings cancelled up to 14 days before the date will be eligible for a full refund. Thereafter changes will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of ZSL. 

Get up close and personal to one of the tallest mammals in the world with a special Meet the Animals experience.

From £54 per person

Hosted by an expert giraffe keeper, you'll get the chance to meet our tower of giraffes, learn all about the species and feed them a tasty snack!

This is a once in a lifetime experience and one you won't ever forget.

Your experience

1. Meet and feed one of our beautiful giraffes
2. Discover more about this fascinating species
3. Opportunity to ask our expert keeper questions about the group
4. Meet the Giraffes takes place daily at 12.15pm, May - October.
5. Please be at the meeting point at 12.05pm, located by the ground floor indoor viewing area of the giraffe house.

BOOK NOW

Terms and conditions

• General admission ticket or valid membership per person must be purchased to be allowed entry into the zoo and take part in the Meet the Giraffes experience.

• Please listen to the keeper at all times. (Your safety as well as the welfare of all animals is their upmost priority. As such, the keeper can stop the encounter or ask participants to exit the VIP area at any time should they feel necessary.)

• Appropriate closed toe footwear must be worn for the experience.

• Maximum of 6 participants per experience. Children: must be at least 3-foot in height and be accompanied by an adult, no more than 2 children per adult. Each adult must also has a valid Meet the Giraffes ticket.

• Disabilities: Participants with learning or visual impairment must be accompanied by a carer who takes full responsibility for the adherence of health and safety and welfare protocols. Accompanying carers can enter the VIP area free of charge but must not participate in the experience. Wheelchair access is available for this experience.

• Pregnant/ nursing mothers who have given birth within the previous six months cannot participate for health and safety reasons.  

• Cancellations: ZSL reserves the right to alter the experience or cancel on any given day if necessary. We will endeavour to contact you via email at least 24-hours before your visit to notify you of any changes. We recommend checking your emails on the day before your visit in case we have emailed you. If these changes result in you missing the encounter or you are no longer able to attend, please contact us to discuss options. Turning up late will invalidate your ticket and will not be refunded. Bookings cancelled up to 14 days before the date will be eligible for a full refund. Thereafter changes will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of ZSL.

Be one of the privileged few to get up close and personal to our pride of beautiful African lions with our special Meet the Animals experience.

From £84 per person

Go behind the scenes with one of our expert keepers and spend time getting to know the pride, learn more about the species and feed them a tasty snack!

This is a truly once in a life time experience and one you will never forget. 

Your experience

• Meet and feed one of our beautiful African lions
• Discover more about this amazing species
• Opportunity to ask our expert keeper questions about the pride
• Meet the Lions takes place Friday - Monday at 3pm, April - October
• Please be at the meeting point at 2.50pm, located in glass viewing area at the lion enclosure

BOOK NOW

Please be aware Meet the Lions takes place behind the scenes and due to restrictions on group size, spectators are not permitted access to this area.

Terms and conditions

• General admission ticket or valid membership per person must be purchased to be allowed entry into the zoo and take part in the Meet the Lions experience.

• Please listen to the keeper at all times. (Your safety as well as the welfare of all animals is their upmost priority. As such, the keeper can stop the encounter or ask participants to exit the VIP area at any time should they feel necessary.)

• Appropriate closed toe footwear must be worn for the experience.

• Maximum of 4 participants per experience. Children: must be at least 12 years of age and be accompanied by an adult, no more than 2 children per adult. Each adult must also has a valid Meet the Lions ticket.

• Disabilities: Participants with learning or visual impairment must be accompanied by a carer who takes full responsibility for the adherence of health and safety and welfare protocols. Accompanying carers can enter the VIP area free of charge but must not participate in the experience. Wheelchair access is not available for this experience.

• Pregnant/ nursing mothers who have given birth within the previous six months cannot participate for health and safety reasons.  

• Cancellations: ZSL reserves the right to alter the experience or cancel on any given day if necessary. We will endeavour to contact you via email at least 24-hours before your visit to notify you of any changes. We recommend checking your emails on the day before your visit in case we have emailed you. If these changes result in you missing the encounter or you are no longer able to attend, please contact us to discuss options. Turning up late will invalidate your ticket and will not be refunded. Bookings cancelled up to 14 days before the date will be eligible for a full refund. Thereafter changes will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of ZSL

Get up close and personal to one of the world's most renowned big cats, the Amur tiger, with a special Meet the Animals experience.

From £84 per person

Enjoy a once in a lifetime experience meeting and feeding one of our beautiful Amur tigers at the Zoo. Hosted by an expert keeper, you'll get a unique insight into the life of our tiger duo and the chance to ask questions about this incredible species. 

Book your place now for an experience you won't ever forget.

Your experience

• Meet and feed one of our beautiful 
• Discover more about the species
• Opportunity to ask our expert keeper questions about our duo
• Meet the Tigers takes place at 10.30am on Tuesdays, Thursday, Saturdays and Sundays, April - October.
• Please be at the meeting point at 10.20am, located by the decking area, at the end of the yard by the tiger house.

BOOK NOW

Terms and conditions

• General admission ticket or valid membership per person must be purchased to be allowed entry into the zoo and take part in the Meet the Tigers experience.

• Please listen to the keeper at all times. (Your safety as well as the welfare of all animals is their upmost priority. As such, the keeper can stop the encounter or ask participants to exit the VIP area at any time should they feel necessary.)

• Appropriate closed toe footwear must be worn for the experience.

• Maximum of 4 participants per experience. Children: must be at least 12 years of age and be accompanied by an adult, no more than 2 children per adult. Each adult must also has a valid Meet the Tigers ticket.

• Disabilities: Participants with learning or visual impairment must be accompanied by a carer who takes full responsibility for the adherence of health and safety and welfare protocols. Accompanying carers can enter the VIP area free of charge but must not participate in the experience. Wheelchair access is available for this experience.

• Pregnant/ nursing mothers who have given birth within the previous six months cannot participate for health and safety reasons.  

• Cancellations: ZSL reserves the right to alter the experience or cancel on any given day if necessary. We will endeavour to contact you via email at least 24-hours before your visit to notify you of any changes. We recommend checking your emails on the day before your visit in case we have emailed you. If these changes result in you missing the encounter or you are no longer able to attend, please contact us to discuss options. Turning up late will invalidate your ticket and will not be refunded. Bookings cancelled up to 14 days before the date will be eligible for a full refund. Thereafter changes will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of ZSL