June 12, 2015 – The following text is excerpted from remarks delivered on June 11 by WCS President and CEO Cristián Samper and WCS Board Chair Ward W. Woods at the 2015 WCS Annual Gala, Turning Tides, at the Central Park Zoo.

NEW YORK (June 11, 2015)—Scientists studying blue whales in the waters of Chile through DNA profiling and photo-identification may have solved the mystery of where these huge animals go to breed, as revealed by a single female blue whale named “Isabela,” according to a recent study by the Chile’s Blue Whale Center/Universidad Austral de Chile, NOAA and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The Government of Madagascar commemorates Earth Day with the formal creation of three community-led marine protected areas that will double the surface of the country’s marine protected area network, according to WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society).

More than 120,000 people took a stand to protect a little known natural wonder right off the coast of New York, New Jersey, and the Mid Atlantic: Deep-sea corals found right off  our coastlines, including in underwater canyons.

WCS’s New York Aquarium Launches a Joint Venture with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to Better Understand and Minimize Threats to Whales in New York Bight.

By analyzing DNA, scientists from a number of organizations, including WCS, have discovered two distinct blue whale populations in the southeastern Pacific. This information could eventually help inform the most effective protection plan for this endangered species.

The small non-migratory humpback whale population is genetically distinct, scientists find Researchers recommend “Critically Endangered” status for isolated whales NEW YORK (December 3, 2014) — Scientists from WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), the Environment Society of Oman, and other organizations have made a fascinating discovery in the northern Indian Ocean: humpback whales inhabiting the Arabian Sea are the most gen...

Public-Private Partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Goldman Sachs, and Chilean people marks first decade with milestones of scientific discovery, conservation, and public education & engagement Created in 2004, the 735,000 acre reserve in Chilean Tierra del Fuego contains southernmost old growth forests, largest population of guanacos in Chile, condors, and spectacular marine wildlife Intact forests and peatlands sequester almost 300 million tons of c...

Researchers from Wildlife Conservation Society, Aqualie Institute, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Cascadia Research Collective seek to uncover cause of southern right whale die-off Research team succeeds in affixing satellite transmitters to five southern right whales Finding unknown feeding ground may provide insights into mysterious mortality NEW YORK (November 14, 2014) — For the first time, scientists working in the waters of Patagonia...

Announcement Made at Start of IUCN World Parks Congress in Sydney, AustraliaCoastal conservation efforts echo terrestrial national park system created in 2002 “Gabon will become the first Central African Nation to protect its marine resources with the establishment of a marine protected area network,” said John Robinson, Wildlife Conservation Society Executive Vice President for Conservation and Science and IUCN Vice PresidentSydney, Australia (November 12, 2014)—The Government of Gabon has anno...