<p><br /> Staff at London Zoo have begun the mammoth task of counting every animal in their annual stocktake.<br /> </p><p><br /> The task is not too arduous for meerkat keepers but for other animal handlers the inventory could take up to four weeks.<br /> </p><p><br /> Staff in the aquarium have to head-count more than 4,700 fish while bug keepers have to tally-up thousands of tiny insects.<br /> </p><p><br /> Recent additions to the zoo's population will be included in the census. A baby western lowland gorilla will be counted for the first time.<br /> </p><p><br /> The male, who was born in October but is yet to be named, was the first gorilla to be born at the zoo in 20 years.<br /> </p><p><br /> Other new additions to the inventory include two golden-head lion tamarins, two two-toed sloths and hundreds of tiny baby seahorses.<br /> </p><p><br /> It is the first time the zoo's penguins will not be included in the count. The birds are in the process of being sent to Whipsnade Zoo while a new enclosure is built for them.<br /> </p><p><br /> With births and deaths each year, the compulsory annual head count is vital for keeping tabs on the zoo's inhabitants.<br /> </p><p><br /> The last inventory found there were more than 16,000 residents of the zoo made up of 726 different species.<br /> </p>
