Forest elephants could be extinct in DRC within a decade if current slaughter continues NEW YORK ( Feb. 28, 2013 ) — The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) largest remaining forest elephant population, located in the Okapi Faunal Reserve (OFR), has declined by 37 percent in the last five years, with only 1,700 elephants now remaining, according to wildlife surveys by WCS and DRC officials. WCS scientists warn that if poaching of forest elephan...

Pilot Project Helps Scientists, Managers, and Conservationists Pro-Actively Prepare for a Changing Climate BOZEMAN (February 27, 2013). Researchers have successfully piloted a process that enables natural resource managers to take action to conserve particular wildlife, plants and ecosystems as climate changes. The Adaptation for Conservation Targets (ACT) framework is a practical approach to assessing how future changes in air and water temperatures, precipitation, stream flows, snowpack,...

“Battle for the Elephants” premieres Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 9 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS NEW YORK (February 26, 2013)— The Wildlife Conservation Society is collaborating with the National Geographic Society on the release of the film “Battle for the Elephants,” which premieres Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 9 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS.WCS has partnered with National Geographic on conservation issues for years. In this case, the organization is teaming up with National Geographic ...

A new study reveals that some birds keep their distance from human dwellings, while others cozy up to our homes. The study examined the impacts of the human footprint encroaching on the Adirondack Park’s rural areas, finding that development may affect wildlife several hundred meters from our homes.

Coney Island, Brooklyn, February 25, 2013 -- The Wildlife Conservation Society plans to partially reopen the hurricane-damaged New York Aquarium in late spring of this year. The partial reopening will include Glover’s Reef; exhibits in Conservation Hall (Coral Triangle of Fiji, Great Lakes of East Africa, and the Flooded Forests of the Amazon); outdoor spaces of Sea Cliffs (walrus, sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters and penguins); and a fully re-modeled Aquatheater with a new sea lion demonstr...

Some species keeping their distance, while others cozy up to human neighbors Impacts on wildlife extend deep into surrounding forest (NEW YORK – February 25, 2013) – According to a study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), impacts to bird communities from a single rural, “exurban” residence can extend up to 200 meters into the surrounding forest. The study also determined that sensitive bird species such as the hermit thrush and scarlet t...

Most important arctic wetlands and corridors for caribou and migratory birds to be conserved Record of Decision puts the final management plan into effect Washington, D.C. – February 21, 2013 – The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) lauded the U.S. Department of the Interior’s issuance of a Record of Decision enacting the final management plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) ...

Fewer than 250 of the critically endangered crocs remain in the wild Release is a collaboration of WCS, Government of Lao PDR, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,  Minmetals Resources Limited, Lao Zoo,  and local communities THAN SOUM, LAO PDR (February 21, 2013) — The Wildlife Conservation Society announced today the successful release of 19 critically endangered baby Siamese crocodiles into a local wetland in Lao PDR, where they will be repatri...

WCS and partners in Lao PDR have collaborated to reintroduce 19 critically endangered Siamese crocodiles to the wild. Next month, a public ceremony will commemorate their repatriation.

The beaver is one of nature’s most skillful architects, but it doesn’t just create lodges for its own toothy kin. The dams this engineering rodent builds can create water storage ponds that provide habitat for entire communities of wildlife, and ensure streams flow even when there is little rain and snowfall. As climate change warms up the earth and dries out valleys across the West, beavers have become an increasingly important ally in helping natural communities adapt.

The Grand Canyon Trust is a 2011 recipient of a WCS Climate Adaptation Fund grant, provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The group is working to reintroduce beavers in dozens of stream segments in Southern Utah, and tracking the benefits they provide to local ecosystems.