> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://tools.osintnewsletter.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://tools.osintnewsletter.com/osint-tools/movebank.md).

# Movebank

Tool Description : A free online platform for managing, sharing, analysing and archiving animal movement and bio-logging data.

| **Movebank**     | **Quick Overview**                                                                                                                                           |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| URL              | <https://www.movebank.org/cms/movebank-main>                                                                                                                 |
| What it does     | Hosts, maps, manages and provides access to animal-tracking and bio-logging datasets from research studies around the world.                                 |
| How to use it    | Search the Tracking Data Map or Studies page by species, location, researcher or study; inspect publicly available tracks and download data where permitted. |
| Cost             | Free.                                                                                                                                                        |
| Account required | No for browsing public studies and viewing publicly available tracks. Yes for advanced functionality.                                                        |
| Cookies          | A Cloudflare security/anti-bot cookie.                                                                                                                       |
| Ownership        | Research infrastructure supported by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour and others.                                                                |
| Use in Reporting | Useful for investigating animal movements, environmental events, conservation issues, wildlife trafficking, and geographic patterns.                         |

### What does Movebank do?

Movebank provides infrastructure for researchers to manage, share, analyse and archive animal movement and animal-borne sensor data. The platform can handle data from GPS, Argos Doppler, radio and acoustic telemetry, solar geolocators, bird rings and natural markers, as well as other sensors carried by animals.

Arguably the most relevant component is the Tracking Data Map, which allows users to search for studies and view animal tracks that researchers have made publicly accessible. Studies can be searched by keywords, taxa, locations and other criteria.

Public datasets can sometimes be downloaded in formats suitable for further analysis, including CSV and formats compatible with tools such as Excel, Google Earth and ArcGIS.

**The lowdown:** It’s a scientific research and data-sharing infrastructure with public datasets that can be repurposed for investigative and geospatial research. <br>

### How to Use:

**1. Open the Tracking Data Map or Studies page and search for a species, location, study, researcher or other relevant keyword**.

<img src="https://2429831402-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3YeRsjw1gI6xxIP4cuOd%2Fuploads%2FmIrPED3KimK4LXQW7toO%2Funknown.png?alt=media&amp;token=e7bf8f66-dd57-4d39-8988-7b0a28fa5352" alt="" height="300" width="602">

<img src="https://2429831402-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3YeRsjw1gI6xxIP4cuOd%2Fuploads%2F58kKz8zT3ZOjOnYeRFw4%2Funknown.png?alt=media&amp;token=00313dc0-521c-40e9-adda-874fe61f35f7" alt="" height="268" width="602">

**2. Open a relevant study and inspect its available tracks, study description, animals, tags and associated information. Check the study's visibility and permission settings before assuming that the underlying data are available for download.**

<img src="https://2429831402-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3YeRsjw1gI6xxIP4cuOd%2Fuploads%2F6dhmVFnHrHXZDPrpgNwx%2Funknown.png?alt=media&amp;token=91c8e985-0d19-450d-aa44-5c8f89fb5f1a" alt="" height="356" width="602">

<img src="https://2429831402-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3YeRsjw1gI6xxIP4cuOd%2Fuploads%2FCi8MaGQITClm9USeigUx%2Funknown.png?alt=media&amp;token=7dc2bef3-bb40-458f-a34b-debdc72f48b1" alt="" height="320" width="602">

**3. If downloading is permitted, review the study's licence and terms before obtaining the data. Download the relevant tracking data and reference data, record the study name, owner, licence and retrieval date, and analyse the resulting geographic/time-series data using an appropriate GIS or statistical tool.**

### Cost

* [x] Free
* [ ] Partially Free
* [ ] Paid

## Data Processing

### Account Required:

* [x] Yes
* [x] No

No account for browsing public studies and viewing publicly available tracks. Free registration is required for some advanced functions and requesting access to non-public data.

### Cookies:&#x20;

The site uses a Cloudflare security/anti-bot cookie used to help detect and mitigate automated or malicious traffic.

### Use in Reporting

Movebank can be used to:

* Locate publicly available animal-tracking studies relevant to an investigation.
* Investigate the movements of tagged animals over time.
* Examine migration routes and geographic patterns.
* Establish temporal and geographic context around wildlife or environmental events.
* Identify studies conducted in a particular geographic area.
* Examine the relationship between animal movements and habitats or environmental conditions.
* Download permitted tracking datasets for GIS and statistical analysis.
* Compare animal movements across different studies or time periods.
* Support conservation and wildlife investigations with primary research datasets.
* Provide a documented source for maps, movement analysis and quantitative findings.

Movebank data has been used in various published research and conservation investigations involving animal mortality, migration, movement patterns, demography, habitat use and environmental change. A notable example is [Kays et al. (2022),](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.13767) which used Movebank for near-real-time mortality detection and a citizen-science investigation of suspected animal deaths.

| **Capabilities**                                                                  | **Limitations**                                                                           |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Search and visualise publicly available animal-tracking studies.                  | Coverage depends on researchers choosing to contribute and share their data.              |
| Explore animal movements through the Tracking Data Map.                           | Many studies have restricted access or limit downloads.                                   |
| Download permitted tracking datasets in multiple formats.                         | Public availability does not guarantee that the data are complete or error-free.          |
| Search by species, location, study and other research attributes.                 | Location and timestamp precision may be restricted for privacy or conservation reasons.   |
| Access associated animal, tag, deployment and sensor information where permitted. | Data from different studies should not automatically be treated as directly comparable.   |
| Supports analysis and archiving of large animal-movement datasets.                | Movebank does not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of data supplied by researchers. |

### Summary

Movebank is a free scientific animal-movement database and research platform rather than a conventional OSINT tool. It best fits in the discovery and analysis stages of the OSINT workflow and is valuable for locating animal-tracking datasets and analysing geographic and time-series movement patterns. This can be particularly relevant to environmental journalism, wildlife investigations, conservation research and geospatial analysis.&#x20;

**Important note:** Movebank does not own the underlying research data. Individual researchers control access and licensing, and public availability varies from study to study.&#x20;

### Ownership

According to the website, Movebank is “managed as a free online research platform hosted by the[ Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior](https://www.ab.mpg.de/) in coordination with the[ North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences](http://naturalsciences.org/), the[ Ohio State University](https://ceg.osu.edu/), the[ Senckenberg Society for Nature Research](https://www.senckenberg.de/en/), and the[ University of Konstanz](https://www.uni-konstanz.de/en/).”&#x20;

### Ethical Considerations

* Check the study's licence and access conditions before downloading or publishing data.
* Attribute the original researchers and dataset according to the study's requirements.
* Do not assume that publicly viewable tracks can automatically be republished in full.
* Consider whether publishing precise coordinates could endanger animals or sensitive habitats.
* Preserve the study identifier, data owner, licence and retrieval date.
* Treat location data as measurements rather than automatically assuming they are error-free and be aware that Movebank itself warns that datasets can contain erroneous measurements, location outliers and incomplete information.

### Related Tools:

* GBIF
* eBird
* iNaturalist
* [EJAtlas](/osint-tools/ejatlas.md)
* [ECO-SOLVE Global Monitoring System](/osint-tools/eco-solve-global-monitoring-system.md)

#### Sources

<https://www.movebank.org/cms/movebank-main>&#x20;

<https://www.movebank.org/cms/movebank-content/about-movebank>&#x20;

<https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.13767>&#x20;

<https://www.icarus.mpg.de/29033/movebank-tracking-animals>