The Year of Data Sharing

By Elisabeth Hunt
March 27, 2026

Species360 is kicking off a year-long campaign centered around data sharing in ZIMS.

Every record entered into the Species360 Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) contributes to a shared global resource that is truly unique. Across more than 1,400 member institutions in over 100 countries, zoo and aquarium professionals contribute husbandry notes, health records, behavioural observations, and reproductive milestones to ZIMS every day. That information forms a growing, global repository that supports animal care decisions and conservation science worldwide.

This year, Species360 is dedicating its member communications to that resource and the community that builds it and will be sharing more information on data and data sharing in ZIMS.

A dataset built by a global community over 50 years

ZIMS now holds records on more than 22,000 species and over 41 million individual animals, making it the largest database of knowledge on animals in human care. ZIMS holds population-level records that inform husbandry standards and breeding recommendations used by institutions globally. The depth of that picture depends directly on how many institutions contribute and the quality of the records they add.

Animal caregivers, researchers, veterinarians, and population managers around the world are drawing on this collective knowledge to answer questions that no single organization could tackle alone: What are normal health baselines for a black-footed ferret? What is the average weight of a two-year old female giraffe? What is the hatch seasonality for the extinct in the wild Guam kingfisher? What does aging look like in a giant tortoise? What is the suggested anaesthesia protocol for pileated gibbons?

These aren’t just hypothetical questions. They’re being answered because members said yes to sharing data with other members.

Species360 members as custodians of shared data

The culture of openness that defines the ZIMS community is not a given. It’s a choice, made repeatedly by dedicated professionals who understand that the animals in their care are ambassadors for entire species. When you contribute to ZIMS, you’re not just maintaining records for your institution, you’re adding a piece to a puzzle that when assembled together, helps create global resources in ZIMS, and informs animal care, conservation and scientific research.

Contributing to ZIMS means acting as a custodian of a shared scientific resource that belongs to the entire Species360 community and the broader conservation world. Every animal added, every health event logged, every birth or transfer documented, adds to a dataset that informs conservation planning and animal care well beyond your institution.

Species360’s Data Privacy Policy sets out how that shared resource is governed and what members can expect when they contribute their data

What to expect from the year of data sharing

Throughout the year, Species360 will be sharing communications focused on four areas:

The Species360 Data Privacy Policy and the role every member plays as a custodian of shared data.
How ZIMS data contributes to global analytics, animal care, conservation planning, and scientific research.
Practical guidance to help members add high-quality records that strengthen and contribute to the global dataset.
Species where data is limited, and where member contributions would make a meaningful difference.

The Year of Data Sharing recognises the scale of what the community has built together and the trust, collaboration, and shared mission that have made ZIMS the resource it is today. None of this would be possible without our Species360 members and the data they collect and curate in ZIMS on a daily basis. So thank you to each and every one of our members around the world!

The Species360 Data Privacy Policy explains how member data is governed, protected, and used within ZIMS. We encourage all members to read it and share it with their teams.

Read the Data Privacy Policy: species360.org/data-privacy