Monkeys, tigers and fish counted in zoo stock take

The annual head count does not discriminate against any creature, great or small

Keepers at a zoo in Essex have counted every tiger, monkey and seal as part of an annual stock take.

Colchester Zoo updates its records at the end of each year to keep track of births, deaths and exchanges with other zoos.

The numbers for 2024 showed the park was home to 152 unique species, of which 29 were either endangered or critically endangered.

"Counting animals may seem like a simple job however, some of the smaller creatures can make the task a little tricky," the zoo said.

There were 64 mammals counted at the zoo, including this photogenic sloth

The figures are submitted to the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria, as well as a central database.

The number of each species counted was also published on the zoo's website.

• Mammals - 64

• Fish - 37

• Reptiles - 26

• Birds - 16

• Invertebrates - 5

• Amphibians - 4

Some species were submitted as colonies rather than individual creatures to increase the accuracy of the count.

"This ensures that the team do not count the same fish twice in an aquarium or lose track of their tallies within a flock of flying birds," the zoo added.

The report proved to be compelling reading for these ring tailed lemurs

The attraction had numerous births in 2024, including a Colombian black spider monkey, two amur leopard cubs and an aardvark.

The zoo's male white rhino, Oto, died aged 27 in March and its male red panda, An An, was put to sleep in June.