In anticipation of World Gorilla Day (Monday, September 24th), WCS is releasing a list of 10 facts on the world’s largest primates and one of humankind’s closest relatives. WCS scientists conduct research to inform conservation of the species and manage on-the-ground conservation projects across Africa to protect these great apes and their habitats. In New York City, WCS plays a vital role in giving millions of people the opportunity to see gorillas at its Bronx Zoo Congo Gorilla Forest, home to one of North America’s largest breeding groups of western lowland gorillas.

 

Are Laikipia’s recovering lions turning to endangered Grevy’s zebras (Equus grevyi) for their next meal?

WCS and WWF issued a report this week revealing that nearly a million square kilometers, or 386,000 square miles, of tropical intact forest landscapes (IFLs) are overlapped by extractive industries thereby posing a significant threat to these pristine regions. 

A shocking study in the journal Science by the University of Queensland, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and University of Northern British Columbia confirms that one third of the world’s protected areas – an astonishing 2.3 million square miles or twice the size of the state of Alaska – are now under intense human pressure including road building, grazing, and urbanization.

November 30, 2017 – Despite some forest loss, Mozambique’s sprawling Niassa National Reserve has the potential to support tens of thousands of elephants and 1,000 lions according to a new land-use study published in the journal Parks.

November 22, 2017 –  Through its award-winning Climate Adaptation Fund, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has announced 12 new grants to nonprofit organizations exploring and implementing new methods for helping America’s wildlife and people adapt to rapidly shifting environmental conditions brought about by climate change.

November 15, 2017 –– The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), WWF, and BirdLife International today launched the Trillion Trees programme, a 25-year initiative to help implement and scale global forest commitments and spur greater ambitions towards protecting and restoring one trillion trees by 2050—the number needed to reverse the global decline in tree cover.

10 October 2017, Rome - A €45 million multi-partner programme launched today at FAO seeks to help African, Caribbean and Pacific countries halt unsustainable wildlife hunting, conserve their natural heritage and strengthen people's livelihoods and food security.

BUENAVENTURA, Colombia (Sept. 15, 2017) -- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Environment and Sustainable Development Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo, and Director of Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia (Colombian National Parks) Julia Miranda announced yesterday the expansion of the Santuario de Fauna y Flora Malpelo (Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary) and the declaration of the Distrito Nacional de Manejo Integrado Yuruparí-Malpelo (Yuruparí-Malpelo National Integrated Management District) in the Pacific region of Colombia. 

Central Park, New York City, Aug. 3, 2017 – The following statement was released today by the Wildlife Conservation Society from an event where nearly 2 tons of elephant ivory was about to be crushed here at 10:30am EDT. The ivory has a net worth of $8 million, representing more than 100 elephants. All were seized by law enforcement in the heart of New York City.