At the beginning of each New Year keepers at zoos worldwide start one of the biggest jobs on every zoo’s calendar...the annual stock take! Therefore keepers here at Colchester Zoo have begun the big count but no ark is in sight!

Whilst counting is straightforward with species like elephants, giraffes, rhinos and lions it is slightly trickier with smaller species such as fish and cheeky birds like penguins! This year we will be counting more of some species due to successful breeding programmes such as the Spotted Hyena, Saki Monkeys, Pileated Gibbons and Rhino just to name a few!

Penguin keeper, Kate Broad says, “Luckily we know all the penguins individually with their own markings and personalities so the fact that they can be cheeky, darting and diving in all directions, we are able to count them successfully - ask the elephant keepers to count our penguins and that would be a different story!”

Claire Saunders, Animal Records Officer says, “With some species such as fish, we can take an estimate, otherwise it would be a real headache getting them all to stay still long enough to have an accurate count!

Curator Clive Barwick comments “Invertebrates can also be difficult to count as they tend to hide in crevices such as the critically endangered Fregate Island Beetle. Due to recent births the keepers may also find it challenging to count the Silvery Marmosets as they have recently given birth and their offspring are just 3cm long and cling onto their mother’s back, making it difficult for them to be seen!”

“Although counting the animals is a daily task for the keepers the annual count is a part of the conditions of our Zoo licence and is vital for creating successful breeding programmes so that Zoos can work together to continue their important work and keep endangered species from extinction.” says Curator, Sarah Forsyth.

The hefty task is completed as part of compliance with zoo legislation which requires zoos to confirm precise records of every animal birth, death, arrival and departure. This inventory is sent off to ISIS, a global information network that all zoos contribute to in order to ensure there is an accurate global record of animals in zoos. It is also submitted to the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), the national professional body offering advice and guidance on all aspects of zoo management and animal welfare.

It’s important that we ensure our figures are correct so we can best manage conservation. Some of the species in captivity are now totally extinct in the wild. Therefore when zoos submit data to these central databases, they can run detailed and scientifically-based breeding programmes to safeguard these valuable and threatened species in captivity.