Colchester zookeepers take on lockdown stocktake behind closed doors
Staff at Colchester Zoo have carried out their annual stocktake, the first since the start of the pandemic.
Despite the zoo remaining closed to the public, life continues as normal behind closed doors and the Animal Care Team have been busy counting the animals.
The mammoth annual task of counting all the residents of Colchester Zoo is part of a yearly stocktake which they are required to do.
From mammals to birds, fish, reptiles, and insects, all must be counted!
While the teams counting the larger mammals may have an easy task, counting the small species can prove far more difficult.
For this reason, many of the fish, bird and insect species are counted as 1 group rather than individuals.
It has been quite a year for the zoo. Like many other attractions, it's struggled to survive during the pandemic.
However, it's not been all bad. During 2020, staff at the zoo welcomed several new arrivals including their Lagre Hairy Armadillos Allie and Gomez, a Wreathed hornbill and some reptiles from Madagascar such as Madagascan Swift Lizards and Day Geckos.
Over 100 new-borns were also welcomed to the zoo in 2020. This included four cheetah cubs who were named in honour of the NHS.
The total number of species at Colchester Zoo is made up of the following:
Mammals 69Fish 55Birds 21Reptiles 34Invertebrates 19Amphibians 8
This equates to over 1,000 individual animals plus colonies and groups of fish, reptiles, and other smaller species.
Now that the count is complete, the Animal Care Team and Animal Records Department will work together to collate all the final figures and submit the data to a central database as well as to the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA).
Despite zoo gates remaining closed, the animals continue to be cared for every day. This costs the zoo around £25,000 a day to maintain.
For more information about how you can help support the zoo, visit their website here.
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