London Zoo’s big count
London Zoo has started the year by completing its annual animal count. This is when staff have to count every creature that is looked after at the zoo, and the job takes a few days to complete.
There are more than 300 species living at London Zoo, and around 14,000 animals. Although the zookeepers count the animals every day, the official count must be done each year as part of the zoo’s licence (certificate to stay open).
The count includes every creature at the zoo, ranging from Sumatran tigers and Galápagos giant tortoises to mini-beasts like the Seychelles giant millipede. During the count, the zoo’s 74 Humboldt penguins lined up to be counted in exchange for a treat. Jessica Fryer, one of the zookeepers, told ITV News, “The easiest way to count them is when they are having their breakfast.”
Many of the species living at the zoo are threatened in the wild – such as the tropical tree snail – so the information from the count is shared on a global database with other zoos and wildlife organisations. This valuable data can be used to help design breeding programmes for endangered species anywhere in the world.
The zoo is also part of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), a charity that protects and restores wildlife in the UK and around the world. Last year, the zoo had several successes, such as the birth of a two-toed sloth in the zoo’s Rainforest Life habitat. There were also 17 new chicks who hatched in the tropical birdhouse, including six Socorro doves. This is a bird originally from an island off the west coast of Mexico, but it has not been seen in the wild since 1972. London Zoo has lots of plans for 2024, including opening a new reptile and amphibian exhibit. This will be home to other species that are endangered in the wild, such as mountain chicken frogs and a Philippine crocodile.