London Zoo: Staff kick off New Year with annual stocktake - counting 14,000 animals from tigers to millipedes

Zookeepers have began the mammoth task of rounding up and counting every furry, scaly, or feathered creature in its care - and a few who don't fit into any of those categories.

On Wednesday (3 January), London Zoo begun its annual stocktake of its approximately 14,000 animals, many of them threatened or vulnerable in the wild. The zoo is home to more than 300 different species, from endangered Galapagos giant tortoises and Asiatic lions to critically endangered Chinese giant salamanders and Sumatran tigers - all of which need to be logged and recorded as part of its annual license requirement, the zoo said in a statement.

Zoological Operations Manager Daniel Simmonds said the complete headcount would take a few days. Then the data would be shared via a global database with zoos and conservationists around the world, "which helps us to manage the crucial breeding programmes for these species".

He told PA: “The keepers have got lots of tricks up their sleeve to be able to count these animals.” Staff have been hard at work counting the vast array of critters. While some, like Chapman’s zebra trio Kabibi, Kianga and Spot, and the zoo's Galapagos Giant tortoise sisters Priscilla, Polly and Dolly, are easy enough to tick off off, others presented more of a challenge.

Zookeeper Sam Aberdeen was responsible for making 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. Meanwhile, boisterous Sumatran tiger cubs Crispin and Zac quickly turned the "register" in their enclosure into a toy, dragging it away to gnaw on - while a colony of 74 Humboldt penguins patiently lined up to be counted by zookeeper Jessica Fryer.

London Zoo is part of the Zoological Society of London, a conservation charity working to protect and restore wildlife in the UK and around the world. Its facilities provide a home to numerous species which are extinct in the wild, including tropical tree snails and rare doves, and its zoos contribute to the conservation of these and hundreds of other threatened species through veterinary research, world-leading animal care expertise, and conservation breeding programmes.

The zoo welcomed many new additions in 2023. 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. This represented a substantial boost in numbers for the species, which is unfortunately extinct in the wild.

The New Year will see London Zoo open the doors to a brand new reptile and amphibian habitat - which will house creatures including its 13 critically endangered mountain chicken frogs, along with a critically endangered Philippine crocodile.

The Secret Life of Reptiles and Amphibians will immerse visitors in the mysterious world of animals such as frogs, toads, newts, and be a hub for the zoo's conservation research and efforts to protect and preserve threatened species.