Chester Zoo stock take under way

Every single creature at Chester Zoo is being counted this week as part of its annual stock take.

From the tiny dead leaf mantids to the Rothschild's giraffes, each one is noted in an exercise which is a compulsory part of the zoo's licence.

Last year was a busy year for the Cheshire zoo, which saw the opening of its new islands attraction.

It also welcomed many new additions, including the first cinnamon frogs to be born in the UK.

The frogs are usually found in the forests of South East Asia but were successfully bred in Europe for the first time.

Chester Zoo also saw the birth of three critically endangered Sumatran tigers - only about 300 are believed to remain in the wild.

New Sunda gharial crocodiles also made the zoo their home, as part of the new Monsoon Forest section within the islands development.

Last year, the zoo counted 12,518 animals from 463 different species.

That included over 2,000 insects, some of its hardest animals to count.

The count takes more than a week to complete. The information is shared with other zoos around the world to help plan breeding programmes for endangered species.

"Totting up our huge new Sunda gharial crocodiles is not much of a challenge but attempting to make a note of the dozens of buffalo leeches and thousands of fish is a rather mighty task!" said zookeeper Pip Carter-Jones.