EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) -
Mesker Park Zoo is a member of the International Species Information System, also known as ISIS.
The organization is a collaboration of more than 800 zoos who have come together to strengthen our knowledge about animals in human care.
Mesker Park Zoo has been contributing to ISIS programs since 1973 but there's a new initiative regarding endangered species to tell you about.
It's the zoological information management system application, also referred to as ZIMS.
Through this application, the zoo will be able to contribute to an online global database of information on more than 2.6 million animals living in human care.
This is important because it allows the zoo to put in data on each animal and compare that data with other zoos from around the world.
That helps zookeepers better manage their care and learn more about the history of a certain animal.
Zoo director Amos Morris said, "It gives us baseline data so we can determine if an animal is not well or what's abnormal behavior. If it's consistent with all the other institutions we can kind of generalize the idea that it's normal."
If you're curious to learn more about ISIS click here.
Or maybe you want to visit Mesker Park this weekend? They're open 365 days a year, from 9 to 5.
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