San Diego has once again taken center stage in the fight to protect the planet’s most vulnerable species. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has announced an exciting new partnership with Species360, an international organization dedicated to wildlife data and care, to create the world’s first global system linking wildlife biobanking with animal health records.
At the heart of this alliance is the alliance’s famous Frozen Zoo®, the largest repository of living wildlife cells on Earth. It holds more than 11,500 cell lines representing over 1,300 species and subspecies — a true genetic treasure. Through the partnership, that priceless resource will be connected with Species360’s ZIMS, the world’s most comprehensive database of wildlife knowledge, opening the door to faster scientific discoveries and smarter conservation decisions everywhere.
Why does this matter? With more than one million species at risk of extinction, biobanking is becoming a vital insurance policy for biodiversity. Storing living cells, DNA, blood, embryos, and other biological materials safeguards genetic diversity, strengthens populations, and fuels breakthroughs from assisted reproduction to research on how animals adapt to disease and a changing climate.
Connecting these two giants means scientists, zoos, and conservationists around the globe can now share data and samples more easily than ever before — turning San Diego’s innovation into hope for wildlife worldwide.
Photo: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
