London Zoo completes annual stocktake during lockdown
The zoo in London is home to 440 species, with plenty of new arrivals to count in its 2021 audit.
Almost 20,000 mammals, birds, reptiles and insects have been tallied up for London Zoo’s annual stocktake.
Keepers have counted two Sumatran tigers and 67 Humboldt penguins among the zoo’s 440 different species, in an audit that has taken place under lockdown.
The stocktake, which began on December 31, is a requirement of the zoo’s licence, with the information shared with other zoos around the world.
An Okapi named Oni gave birth to a female calf, Ede, in September, part of the breeding programme for the endangered species.
The annual audit has taken keepers around a week to complete.
“We’re working not only here in the zoo to increase their numbers and learn more about these amazing animals, but on conservation projects around the world too.
“We have to submit an updated number of animals each year as part of our zoo license, but we also share them with the international zoo community to inform our global conservation breeding work.”
