Movebank is a free, online database of animal tracking data hosted by the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology. It is designed to help animal tracking researchers to manage, share, protect, analyze, and archive their data. Movebank is an international project with over 11,000 users, including people from research and conservation groups around the world. The animal tracking data accessible through Movebank belongs to researchers all over the world. These researchers can choose to make part or all of their study information and animal tracks visible to other registered users, or to the public.
Animal tracking data helps us understand how individuals and populations move within local areas, migrate across oceans and continents, and evolve through millennia. This information is being used to address environmental challenges such as climate and land use change, biodiversity loss, invasive species, and the spread of infectious diseases. Read more.