London Zoo carried out its annual stocktake this week, a mammoth task which involves tallying up every furred, feathered and scaled creature in its care.
The conservation zoo is home to more than 300 different species, from Endangered Galapagos giant tortoises and Asiatic lions to Critically Endangered Sumatran tigers – all of which are logged and recorded as part of the zoo‘s annual license requirement.
During the count, Crispin and Zac, the zoo‘s two boisterous Sumatran tiger cubs, quickly turned the ‘register’ in their enclosure into a toy, dragging it away to gnaw on, while the colony of 74 Humboldt penguins patiently lined up to be counted by zookeeper Jessica Fryer.
Chapman’s zebras, Kabibi, Kianga and Spot were added to the tally by zookeeper Becca Keefe, and Kim Carter ticked off Galapagos Giant tortoises Priscilla, Polly and Dolly. Sam Aberdeen made sure the zoo‘s population of endangered Seychelles giant millipedes were all accounted for, a species under threat in the wild due to climate change and the introduction of invasive species.
Part of ZSL, a science-driven conservation charity, London Zoo is working to protect and restore wildlife in the UK and around the world. Providing a home to species which are extinct in the wild, including tropical tree snails and rare doves, London Zoo contributes to the conservation of these and hundreds of other threatened species through veterinary research, its world-leading animal care expertise and conservation breeding programmes.
2023 saw Marilyn the two-toed sloth give birth to a young female in the humid Rainforest Life habitat, while an impressive 17 chicks hatched in the zoo‘s tropical birdhouse in August, including six Socorro dove chicks, which represent a huge boost to the numbers of this Extinct in the Wild species.
London Zoo will open the doors to a brand new reptile and amphibian habitat in 2024, and some of the fascinating inhabitants are already making themselves at home – including 13 critically endangered mountain chicken frogs and one critically endangered Philippine crocodile. The Secret Life of Reptiles and Amphibians will immerse visitors in the mysterious world of animals such as frogs, toads and newts, and be a hub for the zoo‘s conservation research and efforts to protect and preserve threatened species.
A requirement of London Zoo‘s license, information gleaned from the annual count is also shared with zoos around the world via a database called Species360, where it’s used to help manage the worldwide conservation breeding programmes for endangered animals. Find out more about the conservation work of London Zoo at londonzoo.org
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