How to measure a walrus
Hamburg's Tierpark Hagenbeck zoo has carried out its yearly inventory. From alpacas to zebra sharks, all of the animal residents are measured and weighed. Baby walrus Thor joined the count for the first time.
He's a big boy
He hasn't yet reached his first birthday, but baby walrus Thor already tips the scales at 218 kilograms (480 pounds). The resident of the Hamburg zoo, Tierpark Hagenbeck, was nicknamed "Kleiner Klops" by the vet - a term of endearment which roughly translates to "little meatball." At full stretch, Thor is 1.7 meters (5 feet 7 inches) long.
Wake up for weigh-in, Kevin!
Even the littlest animals are not forgotten. This month-old porcupine is named Kevin. He prefers to spend his days sleeping high in the trees like his cousins in North America do. For weighing time, he had to be woken up and placed on the scales - very carefully - by a zookeeper wearing thick gloves. Including all those spines, Kevin weighed in at 1,280 grams (45 ounces).
Did we get them all?
Why go to all of this effort? Keeping the books is just as important at a zoo as in any organization, say the caretakers. That's how they know that at the moment, 26 Vietnamese sika deer call Hagenbeck home. Since last year's inventory, many animals have been born, died, arrived in Hamburg or "moved house" to other zoos. At the moment the park has a total of 1,859 individual animals.
Captive breeding for conservation
The Vietnamese sika deer have already grown their white-spotted summer coats. In their homeland, the creatures are threatened with extinction. Like many zoos, Hagenbeck takes part in a breeding program to preserve the species. So sometimes, it's cause for celebration when a new animal is included in the yearly count.
Make it snappy
The counting and weighing routine is much the same each year. Zookeepers had to work quickly to measure this Northern Caiman Lizard back in 2013. The species can grow up to 140 centimeters (4.6 feet) long - but this one is still only an armful. The lizards come from South America and look more dangerous than they are - their favorite food is snails.
Do the limbo, Dumbo
To measure the zoo's biggest residents, some creativity is needed. Even the family of Asian elephants has to get into the record books. At 1.5 meters (5 feet) high, male calf Assam didn't need any limbo-moves to get under the bar two years ago. It wasn't all that straightforward though, he needed some coaxing by the caretakers.
More to come!
Overall, the zoo holds 210 species. Thanks to baby Thor, the walruses were the stars of this year's measuring show. The Hagenbeck Tierpark is hoping for some more new arrivals to add to the list next year. Zookeepers are expecting the birth of two to three tigers any day now …