Annual weigh-in at ZSL London Zoo
Wednesday 22 August 2012
Zookeepers are grabbing their scales and reaching for the tape measures as they begin the long process of monitoring every animal at ZSL London Zoo’s annual weigh-in.
© ZSL
Be it noting the weight of a penguin chick, or checking the height of a giraffe, each and every animal needs to be accounted for.
Responsible for more than 16,000 animals, ZSL London Zoo’s keepers spend hours throughout the year recording the heights and weights of each and every animal, including penguins, meerkats, lions and owls.
The measurements are then recorded into the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) where they can be shared with zoos across the world, which zoologists use to compare information on thousands of endangered species.
ZSL’s Zoological Director, David Field says: “We need to know the vital statistics of every animal at the Zoo – however big or small.
“This information helps us to monitor their health, their diets and their general well-being. By sharing it with other zoos and conservationists, we can use this knowledge to protect wild animals, and use it to assess their health, their behaviours and even their ages”.
Pickle the baby penguin stands on the scales at Penguin Beach
Pickle with his keeper Vicki in the sunshine
Elton the spectacled owl chick perches on his special weighing scales
Dirk the galapagos tortoise gets his giant shell measured by keeper Grant Kother
A meerkat chills out on the measuring scales
Giant millipedes are measured in the B.U.G.S. house
