A three-day workshop on the work with Species 360, the International Species Information System, for the workers of Ukrainian zoos and nurseries was arranged by Feldman Ecopark. The Species 360 Regional Coordinator for CIS counties Alex Kantorovich arrived from Israel in Kharkiv on at its invitation.
It should be noted that Species 360 (formerly ISIS) is an international nonprofit information system of wild animals maintained in captivity. It has the online database since 1972. The organization cooperates with over 1,000 zoos and aquaria worldwide. Feldman Ecopark is the partner of Species 360 since 2015.
“We’ve invited our colleagues to this workshop in order to together join the global zoo-network, which unites zoos, nurseries and other establishments, where wild animals are kept. This informational technology will make it possible to bring our work on preservation of rare species to the new level, and to integrate into the global animal protection process,” the director of Feldman Ecopark Andrii Roshchupkin emphasized.
In addition to the workers of Feldman Ecopark, the representatives of Mykolaiv, Lutsk, Lviv and Kharkiv zoos took part in the workshop.
“Ukrainian specialists underwent an intensive training in application of the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS). This special software aimed at collection and management of biologic information was developed for the preservation of species diversity of the animal world. It allows keeping veterinary records, view global data of the international zoological community,” Alex Kantorovich told. “As of today, the ZIMS database includes the detailed description of more than 21,000 species of animals and more than 74 million medical documents. The database constantly increases.”
Reference: Alex Kantorovich is a world class specialist which is well known among the professionals. During over 10 years he worked in acquisition of animal collections, has an experience of work as a keeper. He is currently the coordinator of the Hay Park Kiryat Motzkin and ZIMS administrator in the Hay Park and in the Haifa Zoo (Israel).
It should be also noted that the participation in the workshop arranged by Feldman Ecopark is free for all its participants, unlike the other similar events, which took place in Ukraine.
