Capybaras, penguins, monkeys and even snails living at London Zoo were trotted out for the cameras today, with adorable snaps showing their annual weigh-ins. The zoo's colourful occupants were accompanied by their keepers this morning as they were placed on scales around the London institution for checking and measuring to monitor their health and wellbeing.
Pictures released during the checkup captured the efforts zookeepers had to go through to coax every single one of resident animals - ranging from fish, to mammals and insects - to the scales. While the event is a highly-anticipated one thanks to the many adorable pictures it produces, it is a vital exercise for global conservation efforts.
Weighing the zoo's residents
Kiwi and Gizmo were accommodated on their scales with a large wooden plank. Each measurement is recorded in the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS), which is a global database shared with carers and conservationists comparing important information on thousands of endangered species. Photographers at the zoo could be seen crowding around enclosures for many of the animals this morning, where they captured keepers' efforts to collect data about the animals.
Black-capped squirrel monkeys were weighed on scales with a perch. Many of them, the zoo says, have been trained to come to their handlers and sit on the scales, which have been specialised for each enclosure. The sweet new pictures show Capybaras, the world's largest living rodents, perched atop a wooden board to accommodate their weight.
Special arrangements for each species
ZSL's resident Capybaras, Kiwi and Gizmo, could be seen cautiously exploring the scales and their surroundings before eventually being coaxed onto the platform. The two were tempted onto the scales by the promise of a green snack from their keeper. Kiwi weighed 45kg (seven stone) while her brother Gizmo came in at 50.50kg (eight stone).
Also needing coaxing were the zoo's Humboldt penguins, who could be seen happily skipping onto their blue, metallic scales as a bucket of fish was placed nearby. Specialist arrangements were required for the zoo's black-capped squirrel monkeys and giant katydids - a type of massive bush cricket. The monkeys were given scales with a brown perch mimicking a tree branch, while the katydids had their vitals recorded while standing atop a small log, itself placed on a scale.
Data for global conservation
Adorable snaps captured keepers interacting with the animals during their weigh-ins. Other animals had much more straightforward arrangements, including a Vietnamese magnolia snail, which was placed in a tupperware bowl for its weighing session and onto a set of kitchen scales. One of the snails, referred to as Giant Magnolia Land Snail No 2, weighed in at a modest 102.5g.
Giant katydids were weighed as they stood on pieces of wood. London Zoo houses more than 14,000 animals, but keepers won't have had the time to measure every single one of them. Instead, they will add the values from around 10,000 of the zoo's residents to the weight log, before the measurements are added to the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS).
A Vietnamese magnolia snail was weighed in a tupperware bowl. London Zoo's animal operations manager Daniel Simmonds said: “Regular weigh-ins help zookeepers track the health of our animals – including insects like the magnolia land snails, the capybaras, and Humboldt penguins – and genuinely help us manage the care of these animals, who play a vital role in our global conservation efforts.”
The Zoological Society of London, which runs the zoo, celebrated its 200th anniversary this year. The zoo itself will celebrate its own anniversary in two years, having opened in 1828.
