LONDON (AP) — From alpacas to zebras — and lots of birds, reptiles and invertebrates in between — London Zoo on Friday is taking stock of what it possesses.
The annual census of the zoo's 10,000-plus occupants is a requirement of its license, and the information gleaned will be shared with zoos around the world to help manage breeding programs of endangered species.
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A zoo keeper counts Squirrel Monkeys during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts penguins during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts penguins during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Gorillas pick up food during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A gorilla picks up food during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts Squirrel Monkeys during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts brown-nosed coatis during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Ring-tailed Lemurs sit under a heater during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts Squirrel Monkeys during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts Squirrel Monkeys during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts brown-nosed coatis during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts brown-nosed coatis during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A penguin stands during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A keeper counts penguins during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A gorilla picks up food during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Squirrel Monkeys stand during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts penguins during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Glynn Hennessy, the zoo's lead primate keeper, said that zoos are “really good now” at sharing information.
“We can sort of see the genetic pathway of every individual,” he said. “We can see who their grandparents were, how they're overrepresented, if they are underrepresented, so it gives us so much information to make sure that we're breeding responsibly.”
Hennessy said that 2024 was a “massive” year for the zoo with two baby gorillas — Juno and Venus — and three Asiatic lion cubs — Mali, Syanii and Shanti — born. There were also 11 penguin chicks, always a fan favorite.
And for those who like their frogs, there are 53 new ones to admire. And not just any frog. The new residents are named after Charles Darwin, no less, and arrived in the fall from Chile as part of an effort to save the species from a deadly fungus.
While recording large mammals is relatively simple, it's not so easy to identify the diverse array of invertebrates, which now includes a new thriving hive of honeybees, which luckily for the number crunchers will only be counted as one.
A zoo keeper counts Squirrel Monkeys during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts penguins during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts penguins during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Gorillas pick up food during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A gorilla picks up food during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts Squirrel Monkeys during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts brown-nosed coatis during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Ring-tailed Lemurs sit under a heater during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts Squirrel Monkeys during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts Squirrel Monkeys during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts brown-nosed coatis during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts brown-nosed coatis during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A penguin stands during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A keeper counts penguins during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A gorilla picks up food during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Squirrel Monkeys stand during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A zoo keeper counts penguins during the annual stocktake at London Zoo in London, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
The United Nations says an international staffer was killed and five others wounded in a strike in the Gaza Strip. Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the U.N. Office for Project Services, said the cause of Wednesday’s blast remains unclear but that an explosive ordnance was “dropped or fired.” He did not provide the nationalities of those killed and wounded.
The attack came a day after Israel carried out a wave of heavy strikes that killed over 400 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, shattering the ceasefire with Hamas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the wave of strikes Tuesday was “only the beginning” and that Israel would press ahead until it achieves all of its war aims — destroying Hamas and freeing all hostages held by the militant group since its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel ignited the fighting.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 436 people, including 183 children and 94 women, have been killed since Israel launched airstrikes Tuesday. Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the ministry’s records department, described it as the deadliest day in Gaza since the start of the war. Its records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
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The clashes along the Lebanon-Syria border, where smuggling is widespread, was the worst fighting there since the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government in December.
The fighting happened after Syria’s interim government accused militants from Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group of crossing into Syria on Saturday, abducting and killing three soldiers. Hezbollah denied involvement and some other reports pointed to local clans in the border region that are not directly affiliated with Hezbollah but have been involved in cross-border smuggling. The Lebanese government said the three Syrians killed were smugglers.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said seven people in Lebanon were killed in the fighting, and 52 others were wounded. Four Syrian journalists embedded with the Syrian army were lightly wounded after an artillery shell fired from the Lebanese side of the border hit their position.
An international United Nations staffer was killed and five others were wounded in a strike on a U.N. guesthouse in the Gaza Strip, a U.N. official said Wednesday.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the U.N. Office for Project Services, declined to say who carried out the strike but said the explosive ordnance was “dropped or fired” and the blast was not accidental or related to demining activity. UNOPS operates the mechanism tracking aid trucks into Gaza, does demining and helps bring fuel in.
He did not provide the nationalities of those killed and wounded.
The Israeli military, which has carried out a heavy wave of airstrikes since early Tuesday, denied earlier reports that it had targeted the U.N. compound.
But Moreira da Silva said strikes had hit near the compound on Monday and struck it directly on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, when the staffer was killed. He said the agency had contacted the Israeli military after the first strike and confirmed that it was aware of the facility’s location.
“Israel knew this was a U.N. premise, that people were living, staying and working there,” he said.
The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 436 people, mostly women and children, have been killed since Israel launched a wave of heavy airstrikes early Tuesday.
The ministry said another 678 people have been wounded in the strikes, which continued into Wednesday but at a lower intensity.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates in densely populated areas.
The ministry said at least 183 children and 94 women have been killed since the strikes began early Tuesday. Its records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The Israeli military has denied striking a United Nations compound in central Gaza.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said an Israeli strike on a U.N. building in Gaza on Wednesday wounded five international staffers.
There was no immediate comment from U.N. officials.
“Contrary to reports, the (Israeli military) did not strike a U.N. compound” in the central city of Deir al-Balah, the army said in a statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Israel’s airstrikes are “tragic step backwards” for the Palestinian people and for Gaza, and for Israeli hostages and their families.
Macron, speaking alongside Jordan’s King Abdullah II on a visit to France, called for an immediate end to hostilities and resumption of negotiations including with the U.S. administration toward a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages.
The two leaders were also expected to discuss the need to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and restoring access to water and electricity in the Palestinian territory, Macron’s office said.
Malaysia said it will accept 15 Palestinians who were released from Israeli jails and exiled as part of the January ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said in remarks published Wednesday in The Star newspaper that the move was a small contribution from Malaysia, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, to ensure peace in Gaza.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil told local media that security agencies would strictly monitor the Palestinians’ movement once they arrive.
Lebanon’s state news agency said a U.N. peacekeeper was wounded when a mine exploded in the country's south.
National News Agency did not give further details about the blast between the villages of Zibqine and Yater, near the border with Israel.
Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, confirmed that a peacekeeper was wounded during an operational activity and was taken to a Beirut hospital for surgery.
The Gaza Health Ministry says an Israeli strike has wounded five international U.N. workers.
It says they were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in central Gaza after their headquarters was struck on Wednesday.
It was not clear which U.N. body they were affiliated with. There was no immediate comment from U.N. spokespeople or the Israeli military.
Israel launched a wave of airstrike across Gaza on Tuesday, killing over 400 Palestinians, according to the ministry. Israel says it targeted Hamas militants.
Thousands of Israelis marched in Jerusalem on Wednesday to protest a resumption of the war in the Gaza Strip, fearing it could further endanger some two dozen hostages held by Hamas.
A sea of Israeli flags could be seen outside the Israeli parliament a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shattered a fragile ceasefire by launching heavy strikes on Gaza.
Families and supporters of the hostages fear renewed fighting could be a death sentence for their loved ones in captivity. The hostages “are waiting for us to take them out and to bring them home, but war will not do it. Only negotiations will do it,” protester Alon Shirizly said.
Hamas is still holding 59 hostages, including 24 who are believed to be alive.
The demonstrators are also protesting Netanyahu’s plan to fire the head of Israel’s internal security agency, the latest in a series of moves that his critics view as an assault on Israeli democracy.
A government statement on Wednesday said Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the ultranationalist Jewish Power party, regained his portfolio as national security minister. He had left the coalition in January to protest the ceasefire with Hamas.
His return strengthens Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition ahead of a crucial budget vote this month and improves its chances of surviving until the next scheduled elections in October 2026.
Ben-Gvir supports the full resumption of the war with the aim of annihilating Hamas, depopulating Gaza through what he refers to as the voluntary migration of Palestinians and rebuilding Jewish settlements there.
An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is brought into al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital following what the U.N. described as a strike in which an explosive ordnance was "dropped or fired" in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israelis march on a highway toward Jerusalem to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is treated at the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The body of United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A view of destroyed buildings by Israeli bombardments in the northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Israeli Apache helicopter fires towards the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israelis march in a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his plans to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, in Jerusalem on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Israeli tanks at a position near the Gaza border in southern Israel, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
In this image made from a video released by the Israeli Government Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Israeli Government Press Office via AP)
People carry the bodies of Palestinians killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip as they are brought for burial at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
People carry the bodies of Palestinians killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip as they are brought for burial at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israelis march on a highway toward Jerusalem to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Israelis march on a highway toward Jerusalem to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestinians inspect their damaged house following an Israeli bombardment in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Mourners pray over the bodies of Palestinians killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip as they are brought for burial at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
