Sussex wildlife park begins massive animal count
Keepers are hard at work with the annual stock take
Last updated 5th Jan 2021
A Sussex zoo won't be counting its chickens this week - but rather more exotic creatures such as meerkats, tamarins and flamingos.
Drusillas Park in Alfriston is conducting its annual stock check as part of rules which require them to keep precise records of every animal birth, death, arrival and departure.
That's a task facing keepers at zoos and wildlife parks up and down the UK, even as they are being told to close due to the newly-reintroduced coronavirus lockdown.
A lot has changed over the last twelve months, and Drusillas has welcomed several new additions.
Among the new faces which can now be found around the zoo are bouncing baby meerkats Joey, Chandler, Monica, Ross, Rachel and Phoebe, Domino the baby colobus monkey and Pip, Pop, Pepper and Plum the baby squirrel monkeys.
All the new arrivals must be accounted for and checked in the annual stock take.
The task is expected to take several days to complete, with hundreds of individual animals calling the site home and each requiring their own record card with details of parentage and other important information.
Once completed, this information is submitted to a central database and used by organisations such as the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) to manage conservation.
The inventories are also available to local authorities who issue and renew the licences for zoos and aquariums.
Mark Kenward, zoo animal manager at Drusillas Park, said:
“Of course we know what animals we have at the Park but the annual stock take is a chance for us to ensure that all our records are spot on.
"There’s an awful lot to do and it can be very time consuming, but I really enjoy doing it. It makes a nice change to my usual activities at the Park.”
The park has been closed since before Christmas due to Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions and will remain shut during England's national lockdown, but bosses have said they are hopeful of reopening as soon as possible.