In Pictures: Annual weigh-in sees Whipsnade Zoo residents step up to the scales

PA Reporter
Updated

Penguins, meerkats, rhinoceros and reindeer all lined up for the annual weigh-in at Whipsnade Zoo.

The yearly check-up records the vital statistics of all creatures great and small at the attraction in Dunstable, Bedfordshire.

Northern rockhopper penguins with keeper Claire McSweeney
Northern rockhopper penguins gather round keeper Claire McSweeney (Steve Parsons/PA)
A panther chameleon
A panther chameleon in no rush for its check-up (Steve Parsons/PA)
A slender-tailed meerkat
One slender-tailed meerkat in an obliging mood (Steve Parsons/PA)
A postman butterfly
A zookeeper uses a ruler to measure a postman butterfly (Steve Parsons/PA)

The vital statistics are recorded as a way of keeping track of the health and wellbeing of the 9,500 animals at the conservation zoo.

The animals’ weights and measurements are recorded in a database called the Zoological Information Management System.

It helps zookeepers around the world compare important information on thousands of endangered species.

Scarlet macaws with keeper Liz Brown
Scarlet macaws assemble with keeper Liz Brown (Steve Parsons/PA)
Beluki, a greater one-horned rhinoceros, with keeper Phil Curzon
Beluki, a greater one-horned rhinoceros, stands alongside keeper Phil Curzon (Steve Parsons/PA)
Heidi the reindeer with keepers Christina Finch and Danielle Hearne
Keepers Christina Finch and Danielle Hearne with Heidi the reindeer (Steve Parsons/PA)
Ring-tailed lemurs
Ring-tailed lemurs assist with the weigh-in (Steve Parsons/PA)

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