rom aardvarks to zebras, every member of the 750 species living at London Zoo is to be counted by keepers in the annual stocktake that began today.
The Regent's Park zoo’s census will record each of its 19,000 inhabitants, from 185 kilogram silverback gorillas to tiny leaf-cutter ants.
In the last year, the zoo saw the arrival of its first ever aye-aye - a type of lemur - named Malcolm and a pair of Sumatran tiger cubs called Achilles and Karis.
Other newcomers include four humboldt penguin chicks, a colobus monkey, a mangabey and a Sulawesi crested macaque. They will all be added to the 2017 census.
Zookeeper Sam Aberdeen had to count the zoo’s 2,132 Partula snails - part of an important international breeding and reintroduction programme for the species.
The keepers wait for the penguins to line up at feeding time to do their headcount.
A zookeeper counts meerkats during the annual stocktake using an abacus.
Six-month-old Sumatran tiger cub Achilles pounces on the stocktake board.
A zookeeper poses with a Praying Mantis.
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A keeper counts one of the zoo's Bactrian camels, which, unlike their Middle Eastern cousins, have two humps and are able to withstand temperatures ranging from 40C to -30C.
It takes the zookeepers about a week to log every resident mammal, bird, fish, invertebrate, reptile and amphibian. Some are keepers pictured holding clipboards or cameras, while others use snacks to coax out shy animals from their dens.
The smallest creatures such as ants and locusts are counted in colonies, but all others are recorded individually.
Some are harder to count than others. While it’s a simple matter of "one, two, three," to count the zoo’s larger animals, aquarium keepers take a photo of the tanks and use still images to avoid counting the same fish twice. At Penguin Beach the keepers wait for the birds to line up at feeding time to do their headcount.
Four children climb aboard a dromedary camel for a ride at London Zoo
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A young visitor and her toy elephant find the elephant house at the zoo closed for the winter holidays
A giraffe eats out of a small child's hand at the zoo
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Spanish opera star Conchita Supervia (1895 - 1936) serenades Joey the cockatoo
A zookeeper at London Zoo feeds the baby sea lions
A keeper takes three chimpanzees for a walk on leads
A young grizzly bear climbs the wire of its cage at London Zoo to snatch food from the hand of a tourist
Captain Pfeiffer (pictured) visited London Zoo for years and trained a giraffe to take a biscuit from his hips
An African wild boar at London Zoo sticks its snout into the air
A keeper lifts the shell of a giant tortoise in London Zoo so that the photographer can get a good view
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A friendly sea lion gives his keeper a kiss
A regular visitor to London zoo, Captain Pfeiffer, places his hand into the mouth of Joan the Hippo
Two women play with Percy the penguin at London Zoo
'Jumbo' the elephant is given his morning brush up by his keeper at London Zoo
Three king penguins march past workmen painting their area at London Zoo and take no notice of them
A keeper at London Zoo with two chameleons decorating his cap
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Mr Stuart, a worker at zoo takes two of his wolves for a run in the grounds of the zoo following the busy holiday period
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A zoo assistant feeding a baby Madagascar Boa Constrictor through a funnel at London Zoo
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Lion cubs pose for artist Eileen Watson
Four baby Caiman crocodiles are given a session under a sun-lamp at London Zoo
Wilfred, the South African Bush-Baby looks terrified as his keeper combs him with a toothbrush
A television crew filming scenes at London Zoo, watched by a goat
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A keeper shows off the wingspan of a snowy owl which was presented to London Zoo by the captain of the steamer 'Eros'. The captain adopted the bird as a pet after it flew on board the ship in the Arctic, but soon noticed minor accidents occuring. By the time the steamer reached London the bird had been branded a Jonah
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A young girl from Brighton plays a game of chess with Fifi the chimpanzee at London Zoo
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Heini Demmer, the Austrian owner of Chi-Chi the giant panda bear, struggles to lift her back to her enclosure at London Zoo after she escaped
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Chi-Chi the giant panda attempts to remove a rubber bucket from her head at London Zoo
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Joey the Fennec fox is brushed during his daily morning toilet at the London Zoo
A queue of visitors lining up at the entrance to London Zoo
Polar bears Pipaluk and Sabrina peer out from the observation window built into their pool at London Zoo
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Dandy the lioness, at London Zoo, sits sullenly behind a 'For Sale' sign
Zookeeper Sam Aberdeen had to count the zoo’s 2,132 partula snails - part of an important international breeding and reintroduction programme for the species - while Mick Tiley was forced to contend with nosey camels during his stocktake.
The annual audit, which is a requirement of the zoo’s license, takes keepers a week to complete and all of the information is shared with zoos around the world via the International Species Information System, where it is used to manage the worldwide breeding programmes for endangered animals.
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