The London Zoo began its New Year with an annual head count of creatures on Tuesday from penguins to camels and tigers.
The census - which requires every single mammal, bird, reptile and invertebrate at the Zoo to be counted - is part of the attraction’s licence requirements.
The Zoo holds more than 400 species of animals and the count can take up to nearly a week.
For some zookeepers, the task is easier than others.
While the Zoo’s Bactrian Camels, Asiatic Lions and Squirrel Monkeys are relatively easy to spot, those counting ants “cheat” by counting ant colonies as one.
A critically endangered Sumatran tiger cub, born on December 12, is among the new arrivals this year who will be included in the 2022 count.
Sumatran tigers are the rarest and smallest subspecies of tiger in the world, with the latest figures suggesting only 300 remain in the wild.
Zookeeper Lucy Reed said of the new arrival: “The chunky little cub is doing really well in mum’s excellent care, and definitely takes after dad Asim in terms of size and strength.
“We’ve seen some key milestones already, with the little one taking its first steps almost immediately and - more recently - opening its eyes, which are always closed for the first few days after birth.”
Another new arrival for this year’s count is a baby sloth, born in November.
