London Zoo kicks off ZSL’s 200th anniversary with annual animal count

BGUK_3453013 - CLIPBOARDS in hand, zookeepers at London Zoo kick off the conservation charity’s 200th year by counting all of the animals for the 2026 annual stocktake. Over 8,000 animals are cared for at London Zoo, and each needs to be counted. Zookeepers record numbers of every bird, invertebrate, fish, reptile and mammal at the Zoo – from a colony of leafcutter ants to Critically Endangered Asiatic lions. In 2025, the Humboldt penguin colony at London Zoo grew, when 16 chicks hatched in one season. This was a big conservation win for the species, as Humboldt penguins, originally from Chile and Peru, are classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and their numbers are declining in the wild. The successful hatching of eight Socorro dove chicks this year marked a milestone in the global mission to bring the species back from the brink of extinction. Classified as Extinct in the Wild, there are just 180 Socorro doves left in the world, cared for by fewer than 50 conservation institutions including London Zoo. The arrival of the new chicks at the Zoo was a significant boost representing nearly 4.5% of the species’ entire global population. London Zoo’s population of critically endangered Darwin’s frogs increased by eight in 2025. Darwin’s frogs are an EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) species, and the birth of the young frogs was heralded as a landmark by ZSL conservationists leading the international project to save the species from being wiped out by a devastating chytrid fungus. Keepers were delighted to welcome new additions to the Rainforest Life, now buzzing with twin baby golden lion tamarins, a new Alaotran gentle lemur and a tiny saki monkey. In the summer, the conservation Zoo welcomed a pair of capybaras, Kiwi and Gizmo, who have elected residence in their new London home for good. They now enjoy a brand-new spa-inspired pad complete with two pools, mud-bath wallows and climate-controlled zones. ZSL, the charity which runs London Zoo, has been contributing to the global understanding of wildlife for 200 years – having been founded to advance our scientific understanding of animals. The annual animal count at London Zoo is not just a requirement of its license, but the data from the annual count is shared with other zoos around the world via a global database called ZIMS Species360, where it is used to help manage worldwide conservation breeding programmes for end