Zookeepers across Britain are still going to work amid the coronavirus lockdown to keep thousands of animals alive. 

Safari parks and zoos have been closed for more than three weeks nationwide,

Zookeepers across Britain are still going to work amid the coronavirus lockdown to keep thousands of animals alive. 

Safari parks and zoos have been closed for more than three weeks nationwide, but keepers are still looking after animals six feet apart from one another, reducing direct contact with creatures where possible and wearing gloves and facemasks.

At London Zoo, eight keepers are living inside on-site, as well as a number of others staying in lodges usually used by visitors for its 'overnight experience' who struggle to travel to and from work.

It costs an average of £55,000 a month to feed all the animals at the UK's main zoos, so bosses have been forced to furlough non-visitor facing staff and fundraise to try and cover costs.

At Neumunster Zoo in Germany, staff have drawn up a list of animals they could feed off to the others if costs get too high, but there is no suggestion this could happen in the UK. 

Meanwhile zookeepers in Britain are also live-streaming their animals going about their daily business on social media to keep potential visitors' interests alive in a bid to raise more money. 

A zookeeper is pictured clearing up at London Zoo in Regent's Park today wearing a facemask

A female zookeeper is seen wearing a facemask and carrying a pair of gloves at ZSL London Zoo today 

A penguin is pictured during a 'live-stream' from Penguin Beach at ZSL London Zoo in Regent's Park 

Four dwarf mongoose pups called Jim, Mary, Tom and Andy were born in April at London Zoo and are pictured during a live-stream 

Staff at London Zoo staged an Easter egg hunt for their meerkats last weekend 

This monkey is pictured playing with an Easter egg during a feeding session at London Zoo

The British And Irish Association for Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) has warned animal experts to stay as far as away from the animals as possible and reduce the number of staff in direct contact with them.

Although there have been no reported cases of live animals spreading coronavirus to humans, they can be infected themselves. 

A tiger at Bronx Zoo in New York tested positive for the virus and there have also been cases of infection in ferrets and rhesus macaques.     

When asked if bosses were considering the same drastic measures as Nuemunster Zoo in Germany, who said it would slaughter animals and feed them to larger species as a 'last resort, a ZSL spokesman simply said: 'No.' 

Dr Mark Pilgrim, chief executive at Chester Zoo told MailOnline his site is not considering feeding off animals to one another either. He said: 'Every country has different laws on the euthanasia of animals.

'In certain parts of Germany, they are not allowed to put animals down other than for veterinary reasons, but they can do it if they feed them off to other animals.

'So if you had too many deers, you couldn't euthanise them unless you fed them off. So I think that's where that's come from. We wouldn't do that.

'Euthanasia for a big professionally-run zoo like ours, that's not an option for us right now.'

Dr Pilgrim has furloughed around 260 non-visitor facing staff, leaving around 200 on site to deal with the animals, grounds and essential admin.

He added: 'Unlike other businesses we can't just shut everything down. For now we've had very few staff self-isolating and no trouble procuring food.

A usually busy-entrance to London Zoo is pictured blocked off with a sign saying the site is closed

A giraffe stares out of his enclosure at London Zoo in Regents Park on Wednesday 

A sign reads: 'Sorry, ZSL London Zoo is closed today' amid the UK coronavirus lockdown

'If this goes on for four months, it's going to be tough and there will be some difficult decisions.

'We are a charity and 97 per cent of our income comes from ticket sales, so we've got all of our costs and almost none of our income.'

The CEO is at the zoo three or four days a week and says some animals are more friendly than usual due to the lack of visitors.

He said: 'The animals that usually ignore you are coming up to you, so they know something is going on.' 

While his team is asking for donations for the upkeep of the zoo, he urged people not to donate food for the animals as it cannot be used without the proper checks.  

Despite the strict social distancing rules, zoo staff have overseen the birth of some new arrivals during lockdown - an endangered male Philippine spotted deer calf at Colchester Zoo on March 25 - and four dwarf mongoose pups in London on April 11. 

At London Zoo the 18,000 non-human residents are also missing their visitors. 

Zookeepers are pictured observing  social distancing measures at London Zoo 

London zookeeper Tamara is pictured feeding Gulad the mongoose with a protective facemask

Primate keeper David posted a video diary to show people how he is looking after London Zoo's Hanuman langur family during lockdown 

Bug team leader Dave Clarke has also posted videos to show people how he is looking after the invertebrates at London Zoo 

Today a zookeeper, standing in front of a boisterous gibbon trying to attract the attention of walkers in Regent's Park next door, said: 'I work on the farm side now and the goats miss visitors so we do come every afternoon to give them a good scratch because they really do miss the visitors.

'Without sounding obnoxious, I thought they were indifferent to visitors but no. 

'There are positives too because you really know just how important interaction is to some animals. 

Another worker added: 'You have to have people there because if something happens to you on the night in any enclosure they know what to do.' 

While some of the animal centres were forced to close their doors during the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001, ZSL London Zoo is shut for the first time since the Second World War. 

They have managed to raise £120,000 towards costs so far, but with 18,000 mouths to feed there is still a long way to go.

London Zoo's car parking facilities have been temporarily handed over to NHS staff at nearby University College London Hospital (UCLH) and Portland Hospital. 

ZSL London Zoo's Chief Operating Officer Kathryn England said: 'Our zookeepers have been dedicating their time to caring for the animals - carrying out daily training, thinking up fun and creative new activities to keep the animals stimulated and where safely possible, taking animals like the llamas and Bactrian camels on walks around the Zoo.

This endangered male Philippine spotted deer calf was born at Colchester Zoo in Essex two days after lockdown on March 25 

London Zoo in Regents Park today. At London Zoo, eight keepers are living inside the zoo, as well as a number of others staying in lodges normally used by visitors

A cyclist outside London Zoo takes pictures of the giraffes today as the spread of coronavirus continues in London, Britain

'The health and safety of our animals and staff is our top priority – in the face of true adversity, a dedicated, core team of zookeepers, vets, security and grounds staff are safely continuing to care for our animals on site, making each day completely normal for our 18,000 residents. 

'We have strict measures in place to reduce any potential risk to our animals: zookeepers who work closely with our animals are wearing facemasks and gloves while preparing their food or entering their enclosures - this is in line with BIAZA's (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) current guidance.'

Head of Living Collections at Edinburgh Zoo Darren McGarry added: 'It is a challenging time and at the moment only essential staff are working onsite at both Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife park. 

'It's mostly animal keepers and our vet team who are continuing to give our wonderful animals all the care they need. 

'Almost all of our income comes from our visitors and our food bill alone is £60,000 every month. 

'We have a whole range of specialist diets that we have to provide for, our pandas eat anywhere between 20 and 40 pounds of bamboo a day. We also need to provide eucalyptus for our koalas and lots of fruit, vegetables and meat for our other animals.

'As a charity with no government funding, we rely on support from animal lovers and so do the amazing species we care for.'

A London Zoo worker seen wearing a face mask and holding a broom in Regents Park today

London zookeeper Tara posted a recall training session with these otters live on social media earlier this month 

London Zoo's red river hogs are pictured during a lockdown live-stream earlier this month