NEW YORK – December 19, 2022 – WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) released today its favorite wildlife images of 2022.

Ten of the images come from WCS’s zoos and aquarium in New York, and ten images are from WCS’s Global Conservation Programs taken by WCS staff working around the world.

WCS operates five wildlife parks in New York City (Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and Queens Zoo) and works in nearly 60 countries and across the world's ocean saving wildlife and wild places.

 

Link to WCS Zoo and Aquarium Images: https://bit.ly/3uV2btq

Link to WCS Global Conservation Program Images: https://bit.ly/3PyV0AY

 

              WCS zoo and aquarium images: CAPTIONS and CREDITS

              #2968 – INDIAN RHINOCEROS AND CALF:

An Indian Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) and her year-old calf venture into the Wild Asia exhibit at the Bronx Zoo. Indian rhinos, also known as greater one-horned rhinos, are classified as a Vulnerable species by IUCN. PHOTO CREDIT: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

#0318 – A NEW VIEW OF AFRICAN PENGUINS:

African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) at the New York Aquarium can now be viewed underwater. Sea Change is a new exhibit at the aquarium that focuses on climate change and its effect on coastal ecosystems. The exhibit features underwater viewing of the aquarium’s Sea Cliffs exhibits including the African penguin habitat. PHOTO CREDIT: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

#0891 – ROTE ISLAND SNAKE-NECKED TURTLE HATCHLINGS:

These tiny Rote Island snake-necked turtle (Chelodina mccordi) hatchlings are part of an important breeding program that reached a key milestone in 2022. Thirty-six zoo-bred turtles were sent from the Bronx Zoo to the Singapore Zoo. Those turtles will become candidates for release into their native range on Rote Island in Indonesia where the species is functionally extinct. These turtles are bred at both the Bronx Zoo and the Prospect Park Zoo. PHOTO CREDIT: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

#2243 – SAND CAT IN BROOKLYN:

Sand cats (Felis margarita), a new species for the Prospect Park Zoo, made their Brooklyn debut in 2022. Sand cats are one of the smallest species of wild cat. Native to the deserts of Africa and Asia, their small stature and unique tan and grey coloration keep them well camouflaged among sparse vegetation in sandy and stony deserts. PHOTO CREDIT: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

#5662 – YEAR-OLD ANDEAN BEAR CUBS AT PLAY:

These Andean bear cubs (Tremarctos ornatus) were born at the Queens Zoo last year. Now one-year-olds, they are active and playful. Andean bears are the only species of bear native to South America. The species is also known as spectacled bears due to their facial markings that sometimes resemble eyeglasses. PHOTO CREDIT: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

#6434 – WESTERN RED PANDA AT CENTRAL PARK ZOO:

The Central Park Zoo participates with other AZA accredited zoos in a cooperative breeding program for Western red pandas (Ailurus fulgens fulgens). This male is a 2022 addition to the zoo and a future participant in the breeding program. PHOTO CREDIT: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

#6952 – BISON HOMECOMING:

In 1906, when the American bison (Bison bison) was on the verge of extinction, the Bronx Zoo sent zoo-bred bison to Oklahoma to help begin the process of rebuilding bison populations in the American West. In 2022 the Bronx Zoo’s bison conservation work saw six Bronx Zoo-bred bison transferred to the Osage Nation in Oklahoma where they joined a larger conservation herd where they will live wild on a massive 43,000-acre range. PHOTO CREDIT: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

#7691 – GELADA GROOMS BABY:

A gelada (Theropithecus gelada) grooms her baby in the Ethiopian Highlands exhibit at the Bronx Zoo. Geladas are a large, terrestrial monkey that live at elevations of up to 14,000 feet. Their diet primarily consists of grass and vegetation which is abundant in their Central Ethiopian range. PHOTO CREDIT: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

#9011 – TREE KANGAROO JOEY EMERGES:

Matschie's tree kangaroo joey (Dendrolagus matschiei) peaks out of its mother’s pouch. The joey is the first of its species born at the Bronx Zoo since 2008. Tree kangaroos are marsupials, and like their kangaroo and wallaby cousins, the majority of the newborn’s physical development occurs in the mother’s pouch. PHOTO CREDIT: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

#9674 – GAUR AFTER GAUR:

The Bronx Zoo’s gaur (Bos gaurus) herd has grown considerably over the past few years as a result of a successful breeding program. Gaurs are native to Southeast Asia and are largest wild cattle species in the world. Males are larger than females and can grow to 11 feet in length and weigh more than 2,200 pounds. PHOTO CREDIT: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

WCS Global Conservation Program images: CAPTIONS and CREDITS

Amur tigers:

2022 began with the Lunar New Year celebration of the Year of the Tiger. And there was reason to celebrate: since 2016, tiger (Panthera tigris) numbers have been increasing – today there may be as many as 4,500 occurring across 10 countries, including Russia, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. PHOTO CREDIT: Dale Miquelle/WCS

Bottlenose Dolphins:

This summer, a WCS team found that bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are using New York City’s near shore waters as a feeding ground. The team deployed underwater listening devices at six locations off Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and New Jersey, to detect where and when dolphins fed. Dolphins produce a series of rapid clicks called “foraging buzzes” which can reveal feeding activity. PHOTO CREDIT: WCS/Ocean Giants/Image Taken under NMFS/ESA Permit no. 1876-04

Ruaha Bull Elephant:

Tanzania's Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT) released the results of a second-ever landscape wildlife survey confirming that elephant (Loxodonta africana) numbers have stabilized in an area that was among the hardest hit by ivory poachers in the last decade. Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI), Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA), Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) worked together to coordinate the census revealing some 19,884 elephants recorded during the 20-day aerial survey of the Katavi-Rukwa and Ruaha-Rungwa landscape. PHOTO CREDIT: Aaron Nicholas/WCS Tanzania

Jaguar Camera Trap:

WCS scientists working in the vast Amazon Basin contributed more than 57,000 camera trap images for a 2022 study that represented the largest photo database to date of the Amazon’s staggering array of wildlife. The images show 289 species from 143 field sites including this stunning pair of jaguars (Panthera onca) from Bolivia. PHOTO CREDIT: WCS Bolivia

Cross River Gorilla Mother with Baby:

WCS Nigeria conservationists captured this hopeful image of a Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) with a baby in Nigeria’s Mbe Mountains. WCS works with local communities to protect the most endangered large primate with perhaps 300 remaining in the wild. PHOTO CREDIT: WCS Nigeria

WHITE-RUMPED SHAMA:

The white-rumped shama (Kittacincla malabarica), found in Southeast Asia, is known for its incredible singing ability but has been decimated by the illegal live bird trade. It is one of many species now protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species which met in Panama in November. The shama is now regulated and monitored to ensure that trade does not threaten wild populations. PHOTO CREDIT: Nadim Parves/WCS Bangladesh

CONGO HUMPBACK WHALE:

In August, the Republic of Congo, with the support of the WCS and other organizations, officially announces the creation of the country’s first three Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), protecting marine coastal habitats across more than 4,000 square kilometers (1,544 square miles) thus safeguarding marine wildlife such as this spectacular humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Collins/WCS

Great White Shark in Mozambique:

WCS researchers in Mozambique used a baited underwater video camera to detect a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) that had previously been tagged off the coast of South Africa some 1100 miles away. They made the ID based on facial scars and other unique features. PHOTO CREDIT: WCS

KHULAN:

WCS conservationists working in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert recently put satellite tags on khulan (Equus hemionus hemionus), a type of wild horse. Khulan are endangered and impacted by ongoing infrastructure development in Mongolia. The data gathered will inform protection measures. PHOTO CREDIT: WCS Mongolia

SOUTH AMERICAN RIVER TURTLES:
This amazing drone shot shows hundreds of South American river turtles (Podocnemis expansa) at a nesting beach on the Guapore River on the border of Brazil and Bolivia in October. As many as 80 thousand will eventually nest here. WCS works with local partners to protect this largest remaining congregation of freshwater turtles left on the planet from illegal hunting. PHOTO CREDIT: Marcos Amend/WCS