In Pictures: All creatures great and small called upon for annual zoo weigh-in

Bongos, bears, and tiny snails were just some of the animals having their vital statistics recorded at Whipsnade Zoo’s annual weigh-in on Wednesday, as the conservation zoo got more than 10,000 of its residents on the scales.

The event at the Bedfordshire conservation zoo helps keepers and vets keep track of the health and wellbeing of all the animals in their care.

From the smallest to the tallest, all the animals’ weights and measurements are recorded on a shared database, through which zookeepers around the world can compare important information on thousands of threatened species.