Counting was Never More Fun: London zookeepers get cameras ready for their annual stocktake
Each year, zookeepers take a record of all the animals at the zoo which houses over 300 different species. The count usually takes about a week to complete. It’s anything but a boring affair
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Staff at ZSL London Zoo on Tuesday began the annual headcount of the park’s animals, which includes mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and invertebrates. The count of all the animals usually takes about a week to complete. Image credit: AP
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Each year, zookeepers take a record of all the animals at the zoo which houses over 300 different species. From gorillas to Galápagos tortoises, plenty of new additions have arrived in 2022. Image credit: AFP
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The new additions include a critically endangered Western lowland gorilla named Kiburi, Sumatran tiger cubs Zac and Crispin, and 10 Humboldt chicks that hatched on Penguin Beach. Image credit: AFP
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ZSL’s Zoological Operations Manager Dan Simmonds said: “With more than 14,000 to count at ZSL London Zoo, our keepers all have their own ways of tallying up the animals in their care." Image credit: AFP
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According to him, this included some zookeepers “taking pictures of the coral tank in Tiny Giants to avoid counting the same fish twice”, to others “using training and rewards to count larger groups, such as our squirrel monkeys and Humboldt penguins.” Image credit: AP
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The 200-year-old conservation zoo’s website says it has to submit an “updated number of animals each year as part of its zoo license, providing information which is also shared with the international zoo community to inform its collective global conservation breeding work.” Image credit: AFP
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Dan further said, “The stocktake is also a chance to reflect on all the amazing births and arrivals we’ve celebrated over the past 12 months, and always makes for a busy start to the year!” Image credit: AFP
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Snappy big-headed turtle Celia, whose parents were rescued from the illegal wildlife trade and given a new home at the Zoo’s Reptile House in 2018, featured for the first time in the tally. Image credit: AFP
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According to the ZSL website, the tiny hatchling will soon move along with 1,339 other reptiles and amphibians to an exciting new home at London Zoo- The Secret Life of Reptiles and Amphibians, which is opening in Spring 2023. Image credit: AP
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