From weighing wolf spiders to measuring Ming Jung the 4,150kg Asian elephant, staff at the UK’s largest zoo have been carrying out their annual animal assessment.
Whipsnade’s zookeepers worked tirelessly to get animals of all sizes onto the scales. Then, they began to record vital statistics about the 10,000 residents.
One of the zoo’s larger residents, 26-year-old greater one-horned rhinoceros Beluki, stepped onto an industrial-sized weight scale after keepers enticed her with some fresh vegetables.
The zoo’s endangered Asian elephant called Ming Jung also had to be coaxed across the giant scales with the help of some of his favourite healthy snacks – where it was revealed that the 14-year-old weighs 4,150kg.
Terry and Nacho, new arrivals aardvarks, participated in the annual weigh-in. This was their first participation since joining the conservation zoo.
Dobby, a Northern rockhopper penguin who was three months old, was another first-timer.
The zoo’s endangered Asian elephant called Ming Jung had to be coaxed onto scales with some snacks (ZSL/PA)
The youngster, who was endangered, was hatched in May and raised by keepers. They hand-fed her when her parents were not able to care for her.
Meanwhile, Whipsnade Zoo’s smallest inhabitants, including its butterflies and critically endangered desertas wolf spiders, required some extra sensitive equipment to weigh them accurately.
Terry and Nacho, Aardvarks, participated in the annual weigh-in since joining the conservation zoo (ZSL/PA).
Matthew Webb is the Zoo’s head of Zoological Operations. He said that all the Zoo’s animals are healthy. “different personalities”This meant that zookeepers had to find new ways to keep their animals happy. “creative tactics”To entice animals onto the scales.
“All of our animals at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo are weighed and measured regularly, but the annual weigh-in is an opportunity to review the information we’ve recorded and ensure it is up to date and accurate,”Webb stated.
This was a huge task that saw zookeepers coax all kinds of animals onto the scales (ZSL/PA).
“With so many animals with different personalities, the zookeepers have to come up with creative tactics to entice them onto the scales, from luring a 4150kg endangered Asian elephant like Ming Jung onto the scales in exchange for his favourite veggies, to encouraging a ring-tailed lemur to bounce onto the scales for a juicy, sweet pepper.”
Whipsnade’s smaller creatures required some extra sensitive equipment to weigh them accurately (ZSL/PA)
As well as being a key tool to gauge the animals’ wellbeing, keepers can use the regular weight checks and waist measurements to identify pregnant animals, many of which are endangered species.
Once every animal’s weight and measurements have been recorded, the numbers are put in a database called the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) which helps zookeepers around the world compare important information on thousands of endangered species.