Everyone from ten week old penguin chicks to mini monkeys and even an 80 year old tortoise have hit the scales at London Zoo this week to ensure that they are keeping healthy.
The zoo’s 17,000 animals all needed to be weighed as part of the annual event to ensure that they are healthy.
Data collected as part of the weigh in will be entered into the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) to help zookeepers round the world compare their animals to other zoo’s.
The zoo has also produced this helpful graphic so you can work out what animal’s weight you match.
These weight checks are also exciting for keepers who may discover that one of their animals is pregnant. This is even more important if they are part of one of the zoo’s international conservation programs.
Of course, like some humans, the animals can be a bit tentative to slither, hop or climb onto the scales. Keepers have some nifty tricks to help them gain their measurements like giving the penguins their morning feed on the scales or training the tortoises to climb onto hidden scales. All of this is helped by the keeper’s expert knowledge of each animal’s specific traits, behaviours and personalities.
Photo Credit: ZSL London Zoo
