Animals add up to full house at Whipsnade
Thursday 18 January 2007
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo is kicking off 2007 with its annual stocktake – counting all its animals for the year.
© Joanna Cross, Dunstable Gazette
All keepers will take part in this huge exercise, taking a head count of more that 200 different species at Whipsnade. This year’s count will reveal four adventurous felines – our litter of African lion cubs born April 2006 as well as another tall addition for the giraffe house with Jamal our reticulated giraffe calf, who is still only three months old.
Every animal needs to be recorded from pythons and dwarf crocodiles to bongo and Barbery moths. While our Asian elephants on their daily walkabout make for easy counting, keepers will need to keep track of those leaping lemurs on their island and our group of devilish otters in their watery home. New additions in 2006 included two litters of mongoose, a giraffe calf, four African lion cubs and six Egyptian tortoises.
Visitors can expect a great year from ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in 2007 as we introduce In With The Lemurs, a new experience which gives visitors the chance to sample a little bit of Madagascar as they walk through lemur island and come face to face with Whipsnade’s troop of Ring-tailed Lemurs.
The year past also proved to be another great year with Whipsnade playing a vital role in conserving and breeding species that are in danger of extinction.
