Species360 joins the IUCN Red List

Valentin

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Species360 and its ZIMS software data were recently included in the IUCN Red List.

As a reminder, the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) software is a database listing all the individuals of a species in a zoo. It is updated by the zoos themselves.

The integration of all the data will make it possible to obtain a more global vision of the state of a population in and ex situ.

To access the data, simply search for the desired species then scroll down to the Ex situ data from Species360. Then, you will have the number of parks presenting the species as well as the number of males, females and unsexed. There is also a tab for the number of programs that concern the species.

A One Plan approach to species data: Species360 Ex situ species holdings now on the IUCN Red List - Species360

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
 
This is a nice tool to find out the total count of animals kept at ZIMS facilities.

However the map I found only shows circles representing number of facilities per country (I checked Greater flamingo) or even an empty map (Andean flamingo). But I would like to see each institution separatedly. Am I blind?
 
This is a nice tool to find out the total count of animals kept at ZIMS facilities.

However the map I found only shows circles representing number of facilities per country (I checked Greater flamingo) or even an empty map (Andean flamingo). But I would like to see each institution separatedly. Am I blind?

That option doesn't seem to exist... You used to be able to request those data for up to 5 genera per 2 weeks, but that function has been discontinued (indefinately?)

They will also have to sort out the issue of diverging taxonomies, as species where ZIMS uses outdated names, like 12-wired bird-of-paradise, it appears as if there are 0 holdings.
 
That option doesn't seem to exist... You used to be able to request those data for up to 5 genera per 2 weeks, but that function has been discontinued (indefinately?)
I contacted them when they had stopped with the holding reports. Those specific, detailed reports are indeed not coming back. This can only be viewed by members now. At the time they said they were working on a less detailed alternative with just the numbers per country. So that'll probably be this new tool on the IUCN red list.
 
Sems like that the service is temporary unevaluable.. I am getting message:
"There seems to be a problem with the service. Please try again later"
 
I contacted them when they had stopped with the holding reports. Those specific, detailed reports are indeed not coming back. This can only be viewed by members now. At the time they said they were working on a less detailed alternative with just the numbers per country. So that'll probably be this new tool on the IUCN red list.

Sad that another valuable information source disappears from the public domain...
 
I looked at Southern White Rhino (picking an easy one with a big zoo population) and got this for the Species360 result:

"No taxonomy found for Ceratotherium simum ssp. simum"


For Secretarybird I got this result:

The IUCN Species Survival Commission position statement on the role of botanic gardens, aquariums, and zoos in species conservation acknowledges the important role ex situ facilities can play in species conservation. Species360 has partnered with the IUCN to demonstrate the scale of ex situ support for species.

This tab displays aggregated species holdings of Species360 ex situ members from the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS), the most comprehensive dataset on animals under human care.

For more information on the role of ex situ botanic gardens, aquariums and zoos in species conservation, please visit the IUCN SSC position statement.

For more information on Species360 and ZIMS data, please visit Species360.org.
 
The service is working again. I checked the Spotted Linsang - it shows one zoo in Malaysia. This information is outdated, since Taiping lost the species around decade ago.
 
When ZIMS still used to be called ISIS and was open source online where everybody could see exact number of animals per sex and facility, it already had its fair share of "dead bodies". Old records of long dead animals that nobody cared to delete. I guess amount of debree within the system has only increased with time and bloating membership.
 
The service is working again. I checked the Spotted Linsang - it shows one zoo in Malaysia. This information is outdated, since Taiping lost the species around decade ago.
For Spotted Linsang I just get the blurb which I got for Secretarybird (in my earlier post).
 
When ZIMS still used to be called ISIS and was open source online where everybody could see exact number of animals per sex and facility, it already had its fair share of "dead bodies". Old records of long dead animals that nobody cared to delete. I guess amount of debree within the system has only increased with time and bloating membership.
Just to clarify, ISIS is the former name of Global 360, the name change coming about because of events in Iraq a few years ago. ZIMS is animal record-keeping cloud-based software, which replaced ARKS, which was a DOS based record keeping program. (There was never a Windows based equivalent).

ZIMS is designed to make it infinitely easier to keep accurate records than it was with ARKS. Of course, any system is subject to human error. However, errors are more likely to be an indication that the zoo in question does not prioritise record keeping.

As for making the records public, it should be realised that each zoos records are the property of that zoo. In the early days ISIS membership consisted of a handful of mostly US based zoos, who may have thought there was no issue in publishing their holdings. More recently we have seen the rise of organisations, for instance animal rights groups and animal smuggling syndicates, for whom making this data public just makes their activities easier. Species 360 is also now a truly international organisation with over 1400 members.
 
I see with this 2 holdings for Resplendent Quetzal - one in Mexico and another in Guatemala.

Any idea as to what those could be?
 
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