Scales, tails & wings, oh my! The London Zoo counts its animals Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP A muddy bullfrog is inspected during a photo call for the annual census at the London Zoo on Jan. 3, 2013. More than 17,500 animals, including birds, fish, mammals, reptiles and amphibians are counted in the annual census at the London Zoo. The count is a compulsory part of the zoo's license and the information is used for managing international breeding programs of endangered animals. Luke Macgregor / Reuters Zoo keeper Zuzana Matyasova poses with penguins during the annual cataloguing of animals at the London Zoo. Zoo keeper Jeff Lambert poses with leaf insects. Ben Stansall / AFP - Getty Images A European Eagle owl during the annual census at the London Zoo. Zoo keeper Grant Kother poses with a Diamond Python. Penguins swim during the annual census at the London Zoo. A male jungle nymph sits on a female jungle nymph during a photo call for the annual census at the London Zoo.