Zoo Keepers At London Zoo Held Its Annual Weigh-In For Its Animals And It Was Adorably Wholesome
From meerkats to tigers to even the tiniest tadpole, no animal was missed from the annual health check-up.
London Zoo has held its annual mass weigh-in on Thursday August 24, with staff measuring the height and weight of more than 14,000 animals.
From meerkats to tigers to even the tiniest tadpole, no animal was missed from the annual health check-up.
The weigh-in allows zookeepers to keep up to date on the animals’ health information and ensure their vitals are steady.
The information is added to the Zoological Information Management System, a database for zoos around the world that helps them compare information on endangered animals.
As animals have different personalities, zookeepers must come up with creative tactics to entice them onto the scales.
For example, they tricked Humboldt penguins onto the scales by having them line up for morning feed and used a curry scented measuring stick to lure Sumatran tigers to stretch out.
This year’s heaviest animal was Maggie, a giraffe who weighs around 750 kilograms, and the lightest animal was the leaf cutter ant, which weighs only 5 milligrams, according to the New York Times.
Here’s to the animals’ health for the next year!
