Post date: Jan 03, 2013 3:59:32 PM
Keepers at London Zoo set about counting every single one of their 17,500 animals, birds, fish and insects as part of the annual stocktake.
LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (JANUARY 3, 2013) (REUTERS) - They may have entered Noah's Ark two-by-two, but counting the animals atLondon Zoo is a much harder task.
On Thursday (January 3) keepers began the mammoth annual task of counting all the zoo's creatures.London Zoo is home to more than 17,500 animals, birds, reptiles, fish and invertebrates.
The yearly stocktake is particularly fun for the playful penguins, who dive around in their pool as the keeper tries to keep count.
"Penguin Beach" is home to 59 penguins in total, 52 Humboldts, 6 Blackfoots and 1 Rockhopper.
The compulsory count can be tricky for some keepers and easier for others, but it's all for a serious purpose.
"The penguins and the meerkats aren't too bad but flocks of birds, especially in our free flight aviaries, they can be a little bit challenging, but this is about reconciling our records," said Zoological Director David Field.
"Every day the keepers come in and they check and count their animals and we just need now to make sure all of our data is correct, because it is not just about how many animals we've got, we also need to make sure who we have got," he said.
All the data collected is sent to a global database to keep track of not only what animals are in captivity in responsible zoos, but also information about their lineage for potential future use in breeding programmes.
London Zoo is currently breeding Partula snails, which are extinct in the wild. One day they will be released back into their native Polynesia.
Field said zoos can play a vital role in captive breeding to help safeguard wild creatures for future generations.
"We often hear problems about animal's populations going down, worries about endangered animals and we are worried, but there is good news on the front. With the work of zoos, the conservation work of zoos, the conservation work that we do with many other governments, etc, there are chances that we can save habitat and save wild and the zoos will have animals to put back into the wild," he said.
Elton the spectacled owl, Chestnut the barn owl and Max, the Eurasian eagle owl are just 3 of 20 owls London Zoo owns.
Elton was born in captivity last summer, as was Chestnut the barn owl, which is endangered in the UK. While these two will never be released into the wild, it's hoped by keeping owl populations in zoos thriving it will eventually help wild populations.
As usual the squirrel monkeys lived up to their name and monkeyed around whilst their keeper tried to keep track of their movements.
There are 23 in total, but all the jumping around makes it hard to keep count of the tiny yellow creatures.
The zoo has 35 tarantulas - only one was on display on Thursday, but keepers assured visitors the rest were firmly under lock and key and none had escaped since the last stocktake.