Colchester Zoo: 100 newly born animals ready for 2023 visits

To begin the year, the animal care team at the zoo have been conducting the annual stock take by counting all of its residents.

While larger animals are counted individually, fish and insect species are counted as colonies due to their small size and fast movement.

After 2022's stock take, the total number of species at Colchester Zoo is as follows:

• 67 mammals
• 45 fish species
• 27 reptiles
• 16 birds
• six amphibians
• five invertebrates

Colchester Zoo staff taking stock (Image: Colchester Zoo)

This equates to more than 1,000 individual animals as well as colonies of fish and invertebrates, with just over 100 newly born animals arriving in 2022.

Within this number, Colchester Zoo also welcomed several new species – including Guinea Pigs and Ferrets.

In 2022, the zoo's Barbary Macaque troop welcomed its first baby, named Safi, which was the first to be born at the zoo in over 30 years.

There were over 100 new animals born at Colchester Zoo in 2022 (Image: Colchester Zoo)

Staff are also awaiting the arrival of a new Southern White Rhino, which will be the seventh calf born at the site in just 18 months.

However, 2022 also came with some goodbyes for Colchester Zoo, with the deaths of 18-year-old lioness Naja and "beloved" sea lion Paris.

A statement from the zoo read: "It’s always hard losing one of our animals and it’s even harder when that animal has become a big personality within the Colchester Zoo family".

Colchester Zoo's spotted hyena population (Image: Colchester Zoo)

In 2023, the Essex tourist attraction will be celebrating its 60th anniversary since opening and, to mark the occasion, there will be a series of special events and "historical reflections".

Colchester Zoo said it is "looking forward to what 2023 has in store for the animals and continuing their conservation efforts for the animal kingdom".