Shanghai, Feb 11 (IANS): Over 700 endangered animals kept in parks, zoos and by acrobatic groups here will soon get a microchip planted to track their numbers and living conditions.
Data received from the microchip will help maintain an online database.
The 760 animals from 43 breeds include tigers, golden monkeys, pandas, bears and birds, Shanghai Daily reported.
Migratory birds which live in coastal areas have not been included in the system because their numbers change every year, officials said.
In addition to births and deaths, the database will monitor whether the animals are being treated properly.
The Shanghai Wildlife Protection Office had so far manually collected information about the animals. Officials say that the process often made the information out of date and inaccurate.