A diver took a ducking after he went for a plunge in the name of science this weekend.
Derek Yound, a keeper at Living Coasts in Torquay, went sub aqua to p-p-p-pick up a penguin for its annual stock take.
But during his dive in one of the zoo's water tanks an inquisitive spectacled eider decided to take a closer look at him.
The unflappable keeper took it in his stride.
"It's perfectly natural behaviour," he said.
Mr Yound was part of a team that has to tot up everything from large seals to tiny fish.
At the last count Torquay's coastal zoo had nearly 400 individuals of 22 species.
Exhibit manager Clare Rugg said: "The penguins are hard to count - there are lots of them and they keep moving."
Zoo keepers are also taking on the mammoth task of counting each and every animal in their collections for a New Year stock-take.
Collections keep detailed records of every animal birth, death, arrival and departure.
The annual headcount is completed each January as a requirement of zoo licencing.
Staff at nearby Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in Devon have around 2,000 heads to count, including around 375 mammals of 70 different species, nearly 1,000 birds of around 150 species, over 200 reptiles (50 species) and 250 amphibians (30 species).
