Capturing the important connection between the Wildlife Conservation Society's zoos & aquarium and global field work, Bronx Zoo Senior Wild Animal Keeper in the Department of Herpetology Kelvin Alvarez discusses his work in Ecuador as part of a One Health team working to conserve species living in the tropical dry forests in the south of the country. In an essay for PBS Nature in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Kelvin writes, "Our goal is to improve the health of the people, animals, and the environment that have been heavily impacted by the contamination caused by gold mining in the region. I have led crocodile captures for health sample collection and conducted drone surveys in the region."

"When governments think about health infrastructure, they understandably think about hospitals, laboratories, medicines, trained health workers, and surveillance systems," writes WCS's Chris Walzer in a new essay. "All are indispensable. But beneath these lies another layer of infrastructure that receives far less attention: functioning forests, grasslands, wetlands, rivers and oceans, and the diversity of life they sustain."

A virus sweeping through Asia’s wild pigs threatens not only wild and domestic pigs but also tigers, farms, food security and Indigenous community well-being, write WCS's Matt Linkie, Sue Lieberman, and Chris Walzer. "As governments gather in Yerevan, Armenia, for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) from October 19–30, they say, wildlife health must be a key focus.

Governments from around the world are meeting in Yerevan, Armenia this month to confront a difficult question. They’ve made major promises to protect nature. Are they delivering? Wild Audio speaks with WCS's Sue Lieberman about the biodiversity summit, what WCS hopes to achieve, and why international meetings this year on grasslands, biodiversity, and climate are so closely connected.

"Indigenous Peoples and many local communities are among the world’s most effective and enduring custodians of nature," writes WCS's Sushil Raj in an essay for PBS Nature. "They are already leading some of the strongest and most equitable efforts to conserve natural and cultural heritage. Yet international recognition of their contributions too often stops short of concrete, sustained action."

"I have been to more than 20 different CoPs in my career," writes WCS's Sue Lieberman in an opinion essay for PBS Nature. "Some have been rewarding and energizing with good outcomes, and some have been discouraging and frustrating. But the overwhelming message I take forward, after a career of almost 40 years, is that multilateralism, where people, governments, and cultures come together to take actions for the common good, is the only way we will save our precious biodiversity."

"Over the years, I have had the opportunity to see WCS Guatemala’s work grow beyond northern Guatemala and the magnificent Maya Forest—with its tropical forests, macaws, and toucans—to include the forests of the Trifinio region in southeastern Guatemala and to the Pacific coast and the beaches where I grew up," writes WCS's Gabriela Ponce Santizo in a new essay for PBS Nature celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. "I have come to understand that local communities are part of these landscapes and depend on them and need to be active participants in the conservation strategies that shape their future."

In a new opinion essay for Forbes Belgium, WCS's Arnaud Goessens writes, "It is now time to move away from reactive, emergency management and invest in prevention: protecting and restoring high-integrity ecosystems, sustainably managing water and soil, and developing ambitious climate change adaptation strategies before these crises become uncontrollable."

This month, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) is convening in Vienna, where delegates will discuss a resolution to create stricter international laws that could potentially address the crisis of the global trade in exotic pets. WCS's Sue Lieberman talked to the Mongabay Newscast to describe this growing problem.

"Whatever the future brings," writes WCS's Mariano Gonzalez Roglich in a new essay for PBS Nature celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, "we know one thing for sure: we need nature. Patagonia was my gateway to discovering nature, allowing me to develop a career devoted to understanding and protecting it while recharging me along the way with its beauty."

Experts from the WOAH Collaborating Centre for Wildlife Health, including WCS's Chris Walzer discuss the region’s most pressing wildlife disease threats, the importance of cross-sectoral surveillance, and how international collaboration can help countries strengthen preparedness and response.

The Arctic Ocean is getting noisier. As warming temperatures reduce summer sea ice, ship traffic is increasing—and with it, underwater noise that can affect whales, seals, and other marine life. WCS Canada has been listening to those changes for years. Now, the team is turning to AI to help make sense of their massive, growing archive of Arctic sound. Wild Audio talks to WCS Canada's Bill Halliday to learn more.

From his childhood experience of keeping bees at home with his father to managing the Prospect Park Zoo's honeybee apiary, Bill Elliston is a dedicated promoter of conservation awareness and, in particular, education around the many important contributions of bees and other pollinators to agriculture and the foods we eat.

Scientists warned this winter could see a potentially historic El Nino warming event, portending more bad news for coral reefs world wide. WCS's Emily Darling talks to Your World Tonight to discuss climate-resilient coral reefs. Listen at 24:40.

Host Robbie Kroger sits down with Dale Lewis, founder of COMACO (Community Markets for Conservation), a WCS initiative. Based in Zambia, Dale used the free market to tackle a problem at the intersection of snaring, conservation and community upliftment. Dale’s pipeline allows community agricultural products to make their way in to market in exchange for conservation pledges, essentially buying their help in exchange for helping them get their products to market.

Bats and wind turbines are both climate darlings. But after WCS Canada's Cori Lausen saw a turbine reduce a bat to a "black banana peel," she set out to find another solution. That experience unlocked a years-long search to understand what was happening and how to fix it.