It’s a mammoth task for your first day back at work but you can count on ZSL London Zoos keepers who began their annual animal stocktake this morning. With over 16,000 different creatures calling the Zoo home including, around 10,000 invertebrates, more than 4,000 fish and nearly 100 reptiles, individually head counting every animal is quite an undertaking.

Tarantulas, flamingos, meerkats, llamas, snakes and squirrel monkeys were all included in today’s count which will be completed in two weeks time. The annual stocktake is compulsory and all the animals in the Zoo however big or small have to be included as it is part of the ZSL London Zoo’s zoo license.

And it’s been a busy 12 months at the Zoo and keepers now have even more animals to count, including the Zoo’s new baby gorilla, two cheeky emperor tamarin babies and two baby slender lorises.

This is also the first year that the Zoo's famous penguins will not be included in the stocktake, as they are being moved to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo whilst construction starts on Penguin Beach, their new £2 million home opening in May 2011.