ZSL London Zoo Goes Ahead With Annual Stocktake Behind Closed Doors

This week brings the start of ZSL London Zoo's annual stocktake.

Dedicated zookeepers have?dug out their clipboards and calculators as they?began counting?the animals at the Zoo.

Tallying up every mammal, bird, reptile and invertebrate zookeepers are continuing their essential work, despite the national lockdown forcing the Zoo to close once again.

Counting everything from a colony of inquisitive Humboldt penguins to Critically Endangered Sumatran tigers the stocktake is a legal requirement as part of the Zoo License.

For some zookeepers the task is relatively easy, but imaginative tactics are used by others to ensure every resident at the Zoo is accounted for.

The annual audit takes keepers almost a week to complete and the information is shared with other Zoos around the world where the data is used to help manage worldwide conservation breeding?programmes?for?endangered?species.