Whipsnade Zoo’s 147-metre chalk lion, carved into a hillside, will be illuminated every Wednesday until the end of the year for the Zoological Society of London’s 200th anniversary. Its outline was lit with 2,330 bulbs on Wednesday.
The lion was conceived by astronomer Hugh Simmon, who worked at the zoo, and designed in the 1930s by RB Brook-Greaves. It was covered during World War Two to stop it assisting German pilots with navigation; it had previously been lit for special occasions, including the zoo’s 50th anniversary in 1981.
Whipsnade Zoo operations director Owen Craft said the illumination was “shining a beacon of light on wildlife conservation”. Hugh Simmon’s grandson, Rod Carden-Lovell, attended Wednesday’s lighting and said he was proud to see it mark the anniversary.
