2019 Annual Stock Take at Drusillas

It’s that time of year again when the staff at Drusillas Park commence the biggest job of the zoo calendar - counting each and every animal for the New Year stock take.

The annual count is one of the biggest jobs in the diary and is undertaken by keepers around the country at this time of year. It is completed as part of compliance with zoo legislation, which requires zoos and aquariums to keep precise records of every animal birth, death, arrival and departure.

A lot has changed over the last twelve months, and Drusillas has welcomed several new additions. Quite a few new faces can now be found around the zoo, including Mango the baby Black Sulawesi Crested Macaque, Poppy and Peace, the common marmoset twins, 4 new meerkats and 5 new humboldt penguins. All the new arrivals must be accounted for and checked in in the annual stock take.

Of course, the keepers at Drusillas are fully aware of how many animals they have in their care, especially the larger species such as the anteaters, lemurs and camels. However, the annual stock take provides an opportunity to ensure that all their records are up to date and reflect accurately the number of residents at the zoo.

Zoo Animal Manager, Mark Kenward, is overseeing the task this year and certainly has his work cut out. With approximately 1000 individual animals made up of over 100 different species the process can take several days. Plus counting some of the smaller creatures also takes a great deal of patience and plenty of double-checking.

Each of the animals must have their own record card, holding details of parentage and other important information and the keepers will be taking particular care to ensure all their details have been recorded correctly.

Zoo Animal Manager, Mark Kenward, commented: “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 a 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 and is a great opportunity to visit each and every animal in the zoo.”