Keepers do their animals sums at the Zoo
Thursday 14 January 2010
One, hop, two hop ….. it can be difficult counting rockhopper penguins as they bob around their pool, but even trickier totting up several shoals of fish or thousands of tiny ants.
© ZSL
That’s the scenario facing keepers at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo who annually make a tally of the total number of animals in their care at this time of year.
All keepers, and indeed all zoo stock, will take part in this huge exercise, with staff taking a head count of more than 200 different species at Whipsnade.
This year’s count includes babies large and small - elephant calf Donna who was born in July, a rare Przewalski foal and a Saki monkey baby in the indoor Discovery Centre.
During the stocktake every single animal is counted – right down to the ants in the Discovery Centre who are added up in their colonies rather than individually!
Despite a harsh start to the year with some very wintry weather, the zoo is very much open to visitors who can come and visit all the animals, including their favourites, seven days a week.
