London Zoo has carried out its annual weigh-in, with keepers measuring hundreds of animals to monitor health, track development and detect possible pregnancies. Data from each creature is entered into the Zoological Information Management System, a global database shared with zoos and conservation centres worldwide to support international breeding programmes for threatened species.
Among those weighed this year were capybara siblings Kiwi at 45 kg and her brother Gizmo at 50.5 kg, along with penguins, squirrel monkeys and a Giant Magnolia Land Snail recording 102.5 grammes. The zoo is home to more than 14,000 animals across thousands of species, though keepers focus the exercise on roughly 400 individuals each year. The smallest residents, Partula snails, weigh less than a single gramme.
The Zoological Society of London, which operates the zoo, has run the facility since it opened in 1828.