London Zoo animals hop on scales for annual weigh-in

Animals at London Zoo are being checked and measured as part of its annual weigh-in day to monitor their health and wellbeing.

Zookeepers will need to coax every bird, reptile, fish and mammal – from the largest rodents in the world to the greenest katydids – to the weighing scale.

Each measurement is added to the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS), a global database shared with animal carers and conservationists that compares important information on thousands of endangered species.

Many of the zoo’s animals are trained to perch on a scale while zookeepers note down their measurements, but others will need to be tempted with a strategic snack.