Animals line up as keepers began the annual stocktake at London Zoo on Wednesday. /Reuters Photo

It’s a challenging task as keepers have to tally up every mammal, bird, fish and invertebrate of an estimated 19,000 or so animals from 712 different species. /Reuters Photo

Several animals that arrived in 2017 made their first appearance in the census, including the first Hanuman langur baby born at the zoo, 11 Humboldt penguin chicks and a giant anteater. /Reuters Photo

Llmas being counted. /Reuters Photo

The annual audit is expected to last a week and information collected will be shared with zoos worldwide as part of efforts to conserve endangered species. /Reuters Photo

This year’s stock take was delayed for over a month due to a fire in December last year, which left an aardvark and four meerkats killed. /Reuters Photo