Whipsnade Zoo embarks on its annual animal weigh-ins
Bears, bongos, giraffes, aardvarks and owls all stepped onto the scales today as Whipsnade Zoo embarked on its annual weigh-in day.
The weigh-in day is a vital part of animal’s expert care, with all creatures having their measurements recorded to ensure zookeepers can track their health and wellbeing.
Photographs taken today showed zookeeper’s Olly Bosher, Adam Davidson, Helen Rawson and Anna Brink carrying out the checks.
All of the data will be collected and placed in a shared database called the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS).
This enables zookeepers and veterinarians around the world to compare important information on thousands of threatened species.
Zookeeper Anna Brink poses for photographs with a Red Hornbill during the annual weigh-in
Zookeeper Olly Bosher poses for photographs with an aardvark during the annual weigh-in
Burrowing owl named Ettie is weighed by keeper Anna Brink
Reticulated giraffes are measured at the annual weigh in at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire
A brown bear gets measure during the annual weigh-in today
It comes as London Zoo carried out their weigh-in day on Monday, with lions, camels, penguins and meerkats all taking part.
Staff strategically place food next to the scales to distract the animals while they record their measurements.
It has been a busy few days for the zoo, as the event came just hours after a Banksy artwork painted there had to be removed for safekeeping.
The piece, which shows a gorilla lifting up a shutter and allowing a number of birds and a seal to escape, has been replaced with a replica.
A nearby sign reads ‘Banksy woz ere’ and offers an apology to any disappointed fans of the street artist.
The painting on the entrance to the zoo was the ninth and final work in a series of images of animals created across the capital.
A bongo named Pembe is weighed by keepers Adam Davidson and Helen Rawson at the annual weigh in at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
Zookeeper Olly Bosher poses for photographs with an aardvark
Zookeepers Adam Davidson and Helen Rawson stands with a bongo during the weigh-in
Staff strategically place food next to the scales to distract the animals while they record their measurements
Angela Ryan, head of zoological operations at London Zoo, said the weigh-in, which began on Monday and can take up to a week, will form an important part of gathering data to help protect animals in the wild.
Although the zoo houses more than 14,000 animals, Ms Ryan said the keepers will only have time to measure and log the weight of around 400 creatures.
She said: ‘Today is the annual weigh-in so it’s a day or a week long, really, where we’re going to weigh all our animals and make sure we’ve got it recorded on a database.
‘It’s a database called Zims… and that’s something that all zoos around the world use.
‘We can then share our data, we can check that our animals are all in the same kind of bracket, with their weights healthy, but also something that we can share with conservationists in the field, which is really important to us.
‘The research that we can do here on our animals is then used to help protect them in the wild.’
