Whipsnade weigh-in for thousands

All 200 species – from tiny Egyptian tortoises to giant giraffes and Asian elephants – had their vital statistics recorded on Tuesday (August 27).

The animals must be weighed and measured in order to monitor their health and well-being throughout the year.

A range of innovative techniques are used, from training the elephants to walk onto weigh boards in exchange for a banana, to tempting ring-tailed lemurs onto the scales with their favourite sultana treats.

The animals’ measurements are recorded into the international Zoological Information Management System where they can be shared with zoos around the world and used to compare information on thousands of endangered species.

This is part of the International Species Information System, an organisation that provides data and sharing software to more than 800 zoos and aquariums in almost 80 countries.

Visit www.zsl.org.