London Zoo is undertaking its annual stocktake of its 10,000-plus residents after a ‘massive’ year.
Two baby gorillas — Juno and Venus — and three Asiatic lion cubs — Mali, Syanii and Shanti — were born. The birth of the lions was a massive success for the Endangered species, which are only found in the wild in Gujarat’s Gir Forest. There were also 11 penguin chicks, said Glynn Hennessy, the zoo’s lead primate keeper.
The census is a requirement of its licence, with the information being shared with zoos around the world to help manage breeding programs of endangered species.
Mr Hennessy said zoos are ‘really good now’ at sharing information.
“We can sort of see the genetic pathway of every individual,” he said. “We can see who their grandparents were, how they’re overrepresented, if they are underrepresented, so it gives us so much information to make sure that we’re breeding responsibly.”
Among all the animals, there are 53 new frogs named after Charles Darwin, who arrived from Chile in the autumn as part of an effort to save the species from a deadly fungus.
While recording large mammals is relatively simple, it’s not to so easy to identify all the invertebrates, which now includes a new hive of honeybees, which will only be counted as one!
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