Not so simples! Census begins at Dudley Zoo

Staff will be armed with clipboards and calculators as they tot up every invertebrate, bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian across the 40-acre attraction.

Dudley Zoo workers will count everything from its three Asiatic lions to its 71 fast-flying Egyptian fruit and Seba's short-tailed bats.

The census forms part of a licensing requirement, which applies to all UK zoos and wildlife parks.

The animals are identified through various methods including microchips, ear tags, body markings, flipper bands and foot rings.

Last year the total came to 1,579 animals and for 2016 the long task will be overseen by the zoo's registrar and research co-ordinator, Dr David Beeston.

He will record the collected data in the zoological information management system, which forms part of a worldwide database of animal health and wellbeing.

Dr Beeston said: "Keepers work with our animals daily and know how many of each species there are on a day-to-day basis, so this is just really a confirmation exercise for us to check our yearly inventory tallies with the results, before we submit them to the local authority.

"We have quite a few different things on the inventory this year because of the new castle creatures exhibit, which includes bats, black rats and leeches, so they will certainly make counting interesting."

Many of the animals, including Madagascan lemurs and a red-necked wallaby, are micro-chipped like domestic pets.

Reindeer and Barbary sheep have ear tags while birds have flipper bands or coloured foot rings, which contain individual codes.

Bigger animals such as the Sumatran tigers and giraffes are easily identifiable by their unique patterns and coats.

Those responsible for counting larger animals have it easier than their colleagues in charge of insects, spiders and other tiny critters – especially when it comes to totting up the notoriously well hidden stick insects. Tallying up the zoo's large group of the Humboldt Penguins is no easy task either as the animals do not remain still for long and are almost identical in shape and size.

Last year was also a bumper year for births at the attraction, which began with the arrival of baby gibbon, Lar, back in January. Two tiny ring-tailed lemurs, Itzy and Bitzy, made an entrance into the world in April, followed by two male Carpathian lynx twins, Dante and Dakota, a month later.

The birth of a baby macaque named Summer in July was the first at the zoo for three-and-a-half years, while Fergie the bactrian camel was four-foot tall when she was born in October. Further new arrivals have included yellow-breasted capuchins, Doyle and Chops, a pygmy marmoset named Zippy, nine Humboldt penguins, a Patagonian mara called Lucas, two Barbary lambs named Max and Sol, three meerkats named Eddie, Minky and Matilda, five otters, two roul roul partridges, two peafowl, 10 guinea pigs, 16 rats and 12 bats.