Researchers from the Species360 Conservation Science Alliance (CSA) team have recently completed two graphical scientific abstracts highlighting the progressive improvement of long life (life expectancy at birth) metrics for great apes and big cats living in Species360 member institutions globally over the past two centuries.
The research was initiated at the request of the Toronto Zoo, in response to looming legal restrictions in Canada on the care of specific species. The Zoo sought the Alliance’s expertise, previously applied to marine mammals, to understand and document progressive improvements in the care and lifespan of apes and big cats. Today, the project is supported by the Toronto Zoo, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, and Zoo de Granby.
Using data from ZIMS for Husbandry, the CSA was able to estimate a survival trajectory analysis of the age at death of each individual for five big cat and four great ape species. From this, they estimated the life expectancy and lifespan equality – two summary metrics related to the conditions of life of a population when studied together – for males and females separately for each species and for different periods across the past 200 years.
The research findings reveal consistent improvements in these metrics, for both sexes and all species within the two studied families, affirming the positive impact of evolving care practices. The team then hosted expert workshops to discuss the findings and refine the insights with more than 60 experts from the zoological community, academia, governmental institutions, and non-governmental organisations.
Following the workshops, the team has created two graphical abstracts to summarize the results along with the different changes and improvements made for these two taxa across time in terms of international actions, regional associations, and husbandry practices. These abstracts will be used to highlight the ongoing efforts made by zoological institutions to improve the care and welfare of the animals in their care.
The Science team is now developing comprehensive reports based on the study and workshop discussions, which will be made available to Species360 members as soon as they are completed.