eHusbandry Matches Mates Across the World

COLUMBIA, S.C.

Online dating is becoming more and more commonplace in today's cyber-centered world. The latest development brings good news in the heretofore neglected area of animal husbandry! Zookeepers will soon have access to the profiles of 'single' animals all over the world looking for prospective mates. Until know, discussions and descriptions of animals in captivity were exchanged on an individual basis, over the phone or email. By using a Facebook-esque social networking called the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS), 150 zoos and aquariums around the world will be able to play match maker for animals in captivity. Also known as 'studbooks', the web-based data will be more easily accessible, faster in pairing up matches, and will contain information on the animals looks and personalities-- just like sites geared towards humans. This way, even species more hesitant to breed in captivity (such as the panda or African elephant) can be set up with compatible mates.

"Studbooks are the key to our long-term breeding plans," said John Lehnhardt, animal operations director at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Fla. "We want to ensure that these endangered species are here for the future and that's really what the studbooks are all about. What we're trying to do is maintain a savings account in species."

"Big populations out in the wild breed randomly," added Ed Diebold, director of animal collections at Riverbanks Zoo. "In captivity, usually these populations are considerably smaller than wild populations, which is why you can't afford to allow animals to inbreed or breed along closely related lines. That's why you have the studbooks."

For more information and some titillating examples of animal mating habits, check out the original link:
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,419603,00.html