London Zoo has begun its annual weigh-in as it measures and records the vital statistics of the 14,000 animals in its care.

The information gathered, which helps the zoo to monitor the health and wellbeing of the animals, is shared with other zoos around the world through the Zoological Information Management System.

Angela Ryan, London Zoo’s head of zoological operations, said: “We record the vital statistics of every animal at the Zoo – from the tallest giraffe to the tiniest tadpole.
 
“Having this data helps to ensure that every animal we care for is healthy, eating well, and growing at the rate they should - a key indicator of health and wellbeing.
 
“For example, a growing waistline can help us to detect and monitor pregnancies, which is vitally important as many of the species we care for are threatened in the wild and part of international conservation breeding programmes - London Zoo coordinates the global programme for Sumatran tigers, for example.
 
“By sharing information with other zoos and conservationists around the world, we can all use this knowledge to better care for the species we’re striving to protect.”

Cameras were on hand to capture the various methods the keepers employed to weigh and measure the different animals.