Hampshire's Marwell Zoo begins annual count of all creatures great and small

Zookeepers at the Hampshire conservation charity are required by law to complete an audit each year of the 18,000 mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates in their care.

Most species are recorded individually, whereas stick insects and Caribbean giant cockroaches are counted in groups.

Marwell Zoo’s four-year-old white rhino named Zahra is among the latest arrivals to be counted this year.

Zahra was born as part of an endangered species breeding programme and she has joined the zoo's 'crash' of rhinos called Kiri, Sula, Pembe, and Jabari.

A spokeswoman for Marwell Zoo said: 'It is hoped one day she may mother calves to secure the future of the species.

‘Southern white rhinos were previously hunted to near extinction, leaving only approximately 20-50 individuals at the end of the 19th century.’

Other recent additions include a third endangered banteng calf who was born on Sunday (January 23) and has joined two young calves who were born in December.

Banteng's are a new addition to Marwell Zoo and are found throughout south east Asia including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Other arrivals since the last stocktake include parma wallabies, the smallest species of the Macropus family, coppery titi monkeys, a male Linne’s two-toed sloth, a Humboldt penguin chick, a bearded emperor tamarin, a male tapir, and red river hogs.

Debbie Pearson, animal registrar, said: ‘Every year we complete the audit in accordance with zoo legislation to ensure the numbers we have on record tally with the animals we have on the ground before sending the final figures to our local authority.

‘This year we have more than 2,500 different animals across 141 different species.

‘It’s been an exciting year with some welcome additions to the breeding programmes and some firsts for Marwell.’

SEE ALSO: Marwell Zoo celebrates birth of Freya the rare antelope calf which is extinct in the wild

The zoo spokeswoman added: ‘Although the audit is undertaken once a year, keepers continually count the zoo’s animals, the record of which is published at the end of January.

‘The annual inventory is shared around the world via a database designed to ensure the best possible management of worldwide conservation-breeding programmes.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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