Aspiring young zoo keepers have the chance to go behind-the-scenes at ZSL London Zoo. Kids can get close to some of their favourite zoo animals and find out what’s it like to take care of them during the Junior Keeper for a Day experience. We sent 12-year-old Téo Grimshaw to report on his day as a zoo keeper:

“We were given numerous jobs during the day which included feeding, grooming and cleaning the animal enclosures. We started at the Rainforest Life zone and fed lion-headed tamarins, titi monkeys, emperor monkeys, anteaters and sloths with apples, grapes and meal worms.

“The next job was scooping up llama, alpaca and donkey dung. We really enjoyed petting them when cleaning was competed.

“One of my favourite tasks was feeding the cute meerkats. They nervously came out of their habitats under the ground, as they were frightened of a blue kite which they mistook for a bird of prey.

“The coatis were unusual animals – we had to make a game of hiding their food for them around their enclosure.  They were running around our feet looking for the food.

“The most favourite task for me was feeding three enormous giraffes with carrots. They used their long blue tongues to wrap around the carrot sticks and eat them.

“The whole experience lasted just over 3 hours. At the end we were given a goody bag which contained a cap, t-shirt and fabric bag all with Zoo Keeper for a Day logo and certificate. It was a great day and everyone really enjoyed themselves.”

Junior Keeper for a Day is available for 11-15 year olds and costs £170 per person, including zoo entry for the participant and one accompanying adult. The experience lasts from 9:15am to 1pm and includes morning refreshments. Find out more

Too old? There’s a Keeper for a Day experience for adults too, or spend a night at the zoo in a luxury tent.

This tamandua at ZSL London Zoo looks pleased with the zoo’s Visit London Award. The attraction won Best Tourism Experience at last night’s awards ceremony.

London Zoo‘s magnificent Asian lion family showed their support for the England football team as their new, improved paddock was unveiled this morning.

This is Lucifer, a seven-year-old father of two. We suspect he might be a tad more excited about the meaty treat stuffed inside the football than the beautiful game!

The new big cat enclosure will allow visitors to get even closer to the zoo’s lion pride.

And the England footballs will continue to kick around the enclosure as part of the animals’ enrichment.

Last week I was lucky enough to get a behind the scenes tour of the SEA LIFE London Aquarium.  I’ve been to the Aquarium many times but never realised just how much is happening behind the Staff Only doors.

First stop was the area where staff prep for meal times. I saw boards explaining which fish needed what and any special diets. As Toby, the General Manager, took me through I saw some of the live bait such as tiny shrimps that are bred for meal times.

I was also amazed to find a special room where every fish that dies in the Aquarium, no matter how big or small, has a post-mortem.  While I was there, there were test tubes ready to be sent off to labs.

Another fact I was amazed to find out was that Aquarium staff make their own salt water so that they can get the consistencies right for each of the exhibits. There were huge mounds of salt ready for dilution.

Next stop was a vast room full of live sea life being bred for breeding programs and conservation or quarantined. It was amazing, I saw new exhibits such as guitar sharks that look like a cross between a ray and a shark, a beautiful leopard ray, and lots more fish that I cannot remember the names of. 

They had also just put some crown-of-thorns starfish into one of the exhibits for research. The starfish are usually found on coral reefs in the tropics where they prey on the coral. They are seen as a major threat to the coral reef ecosystem.

My highlight was being able to see one of the crocodiles which will be going into the new Rainforests of the World exhibit on Monday.  She looked very content bathing under heat lamps and waiting for her dinner – frozen rats and chicks.  Toby took me  to see her sister who has already settled nicely into her new home within the rainforest exhibit. As we arrived she was swimming around, enjoying her new surroundings and waiting for her new friend to join her.

Rainforests of the World is open now at the SEA LIFE London Aquarium

If you love street art, good causes and animals, you’re in for a treat this summer.

From May to June, London will see an innovative fundraising campaign take to the streets in the form of an Elephant Parade.

Two hundred and fifty life-sized baby elephants will take to the streets of our capital, all hand-painted by an assortment of artists and designers.

Artists taking part include:

• Marc Quinn
• Diane Von Furstenberg
• Alice Temperley
• Lulu Guinness
• Julien Macdonald
• John Rocha
• Jack Vettriano

After being displayed in all their finery at various London attractions, the elephants will then head to one of London’s great green spaces together as an exhibition. They’ll then be auctioned off to (very careful!) new owners at Sotheby’s in July. The auction aims to raise more than £1m: the money goes to 15 UK conservation charities working in Asia.

I chatted to a very cheery Lulu Guinness at the launch this morning. She’s very passionate about the cause, and seemed to have had a ball creating the design for her elephant.

“At first, I’d her in these kisses, but it ended up looking like it had chicken pox or something,” she told me. “So it was back to carefully placing the blots; it needed to be kept simple. I hope people walk all the way around it, to get the full effect of the sculpture. I want people to think she’s been smothered in kisses, like a form of adoration.”

I asked Lulu if she minded which part of London her elephant went to. “Not at all. I’m not that complex! I’ve recently had a pop-up shop in Carnaby, and I think the people there have requested my elephant for Carnaby Street, which is lovely. I think she’ll be great there.”

Look out for Lulu’s elephant, plus 249 others dotted around London come May! Check out more Elephant Parade launch photos on flickr.

Even the most dedicated of emailers could be persuaded revert to paper and ink missives with these supercute new stamps from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. The new stamps feature 10 former residents who have now been successfully rehomed.

Royal Mail commissioned the stamps to help celebrate Battersea Dogs and Cats Home’s 150th birthday this year.

The charity started as a home for lost and starving dogs in 1860. Then, in 1883, it began taking in cats as well, and remains true to its original aim to “never to turn away a dog or cat in need of help.”

Take a look at the video below to hear the stories of the 10 celebrity pets and their new owners:

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home takes in 12,000 animals every year, so if there’s room in your life for a furry friend, why not consider rehoming one? Or if you have a less than sympathetic landlord, there are lots of other ways to help the charity.

The stamps are available at all Post Offices and online at www.royalmail.com/stamps.

Last weekend, I headed to bird-spotter’s paradise the London Wetland Centre in Barnes.

Although not ornithologically-inclined myself, I do like ducks, so seeing numerous species including the White-faced Whistling duck, Indian Running ducks and mallards was a bit of a treat!

The 42-hectare site features ponds, rivers and reed beds, making it a perfect home not just for birds, but bats, insects, water voles and other wildlife too.

You can wander the paths in just a few hours and keen bird-spotters can set up camp in one of six hides located around the site. Admittedly, the centre looked distinctly brown and muddy at this time of year, but our tour guide assured us that it becomes much more colourful by spring.

My highlights included:

• A pair of bullying Black Swans who chased any other birds off their patch of water
• The strange and random sculptures scattered around the site, including a seal carcass and a bird sculpture made out of shopping trolleys
• Ducks, ducks and more ducks!

The WWT London Wetland Centre also runs regular events for kids – look out for pond dipping and Easter egg hunts this Easter.

This week’s photos features deer in Richmond Park, photographed by epic_steve.

Check out more of Steve Morgan’s stunning photos at www.richmondparklondon.co.uk.

Add your photos to the Visit London Flickr pool and we could be featuring you next!

Today the keepers at ZSL London Zoo had the huge job of counting every single animal as part of the zoo’s annual stocktake.

With more than 750 different species – including gorillas, tigers, giant tortoises, meerkats, penguins and spiders - the keepers had their work cut out as they braved the wintery weather with clipboards.

Last year’s count revealed a total of 14,567 animals, including:

• 259 mammals
• 5,570 fish
• 680 birds
• 7,510 bugs
• 341 amphibians
• 207 reptiles

There are even more heads to count this year: the zoo has welcomed lots of new inhabitants, including lion cubs, a baby mangabey, a komodo dragon, a pair of aardvarks, a pack of coatis and some porcupines.

I tend to think of Kew Gardens as a place best visited in spring when hundreds of daffodils and crocuses fill the lawns.

However, I was pleasantly surprised when I visited on a distinctly autumnal day – windy, a little on the cold side, and cloudy skies (though the sun did manage to break through a few times).

Although many of the flowers aren’t in bloom at this time of year, there’s still plenty of colour on the trees, as their leaves turn red, gold and orange. The ground was littered with acorns and it seemed the resident squirrels couldn’t believe their luck as they scampered about collecting them.

There was no shortage of wildlife as we saw several flocks of Canadian Geese wandering around the park, plus swans and their signets on the lake, and a few ducks too.

Up on the impressive Xstrasa Treetop Walkway, we came close to some pretty decent looking conkers – the kind that I could never quite reach as a child. In all honesty, I was still too short to get them, but a taller person might just manage!

Check out our Tips for Autumn