"I hope to encourage empathy towards 'scary' animals and maybe even a love for them," writes George Gurgis in a new essay PBS Nature for LGBTQ+ Pride Month, adding, "That is why every time I see someone become excited towards my favorite classroom animals—a collection of snakes and two precious rats—it makes me so genuinely happy. It’s not only a win for the misunderstood animals, but for all of us that were labeled as 'different.'"

Turtles and tortoises are facing extinction like few other species groups. Nearly half of the 300+ species are at risk. The international pet trade is a major reason why. This week, the WCS Wild Audio podcast explores how the Bronx Zoo, as a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, is working to tackle the problem and why the case of the radiated tortoise is a good example.

Last week in Part 1 of our series on bison conservation, we explored the historical role that WCS and Indigenous and other partners played in helping to save the American bison from extinction and begin to restore this iconic species on tribal lands in the west. In Part 2, we look at how critical partnerships across lines of geography, culture, and politics helped to establish the bison as the national mammal of the United States.

While the movement of food animals has crucial implications on food and nutrition security and thereby the resilience of regions," writes WCS India's Aaron Savio Lobo, "there is another pernicious element that is receiving less attention than it should, the spread of disease – zoonoses. While they move particularly under the duress of climate they are prone to infections and parasites."

"I believe that WCS as an international conservation organization has started to bring a shift by centering the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and championing a Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) to conservation," writes WCS's Dawa Yangi Sherpa in a new essay at PBS Nature for Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, adding, "We premise our work on the understanding that biological and cultural diversity are interconnected, mutually reinforcing, interdependent, and often co-evolved. All of this provides the basis for the change we seek."

For millennia, tens of millions of bison roamed the plains of North America. By the end of the 19th century, westward expansion and overhunting at the hands of settlers had devastated these populations. The fate of one of the America’s most iconic animals teetered on the edge of extinction. In Part 1 of a two-part series on bison conservation, WCS Wild Audio looks at how the Bronx Zoo, working with many other organizations and Indigenous Peoples, helped pull one of North America’s most endangered species back from the brink. Next week in Part 2: How the bison became the US national mammal

One of WCS’s priorities is protecting an underwater marvel off the coast of New York and New Jersey. Along the way, the goal is to deepen the connection of the more than 28 million local residents to our treasured ocean resources. There are a number of voices contributing to the effort, including young people. For a World Oceans Day episode of the WCS Wild Audio podcast, Dan Rosen speaks with Leslieann Peers-Roman and Brynn Heller.

H5N1 now poses an existential threat to global biodiversity, having infected over 150 wild and domestic avian species worldwide, along with numerous mammalian species. And while it's a significant risk for biodiversity, it also presents a potential spillover risk for us. In a new episode of the Voices of Wilderness podcast, WCS's Chris Walter discusses what we can do to tackle this wildlife crisis and why it's crucial to consider the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.

Highlighting the WCS Sharks & Rays Program's recent planning retreat in Belize, WCS's Dana Tricarico discusses the ‘10 x10' initiative—a comprehensive, science-based strategy, providing guidance for management reforms in 10 geographies over 10 years between 2020 and 2030.

When the Cat Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, met in San Diego in 2019 they were keen to identify fresh insights in jaguar conservation. Delayed due to COVID, the effort got back on track in 2023 and this winter its findings were published. It seemed like a good moment to check in with some of WCS’s leading jaguar conservationists to see how Latin America’s biggest cat is faring. We talked to Esteban Payan, Rob Wallace, and Mariana da Silva for this report.

The Alberta government recently approved a proposal for a motor speedway in a sensitive river valley "at a speed that would make Mario Andretti blush," write WCS Canada's Susan Holroyd and Cory Olson in a new op-ed for the Calgary Herald. "As wildlife biologists," they note, "we are raising caution flags about the potential effects of this project on species at risk, from bats to bank swallows."

Confronting the growing avian influenza crisis, write WCS's Chris Walzer and Sarah Olson in a new essay for PBS Nature, requires independent coordination and close collaboration between animal and human health disciplines in sectors across the globe—both north and south. "No single entity or agency can or should tackle this crisis. It demands rapid, comprehensive, transparent sampling, analysis, and reporting to the scientific community," note Chris and Sarah.

WCS supports the government of Belize in the management of two marine reserves in Belize, protected by a dedicated team of local rangers and monitored by experienced local and international scientists. Beyond preserving marine ecosystems, their focus extends to supporting the livelihoods of fishing communities there. In a new episode of the WCS Wild Audio podcast, WCS Belize’s Ralna Kay Lamb Lewis says it's about ensuring that communities—especially women who have often been underrepresented—have the tools to manage resources, ensuring their own incomes and quality of life.

In a new op-ed for The Hill, WCS's Sue Lieberman, Chris Walzer, and Christine Franklin make an urgent call for the inclusion of explicit language on pandemic prevention at source in a new and legally binding World Health Organization (WHO) agreement for pandemic preparedness to be finalized this month. Their central argument is that preventing pathogen spillover where it occurs in the first place must be a companion to identifying response protocols once a viral pandemic is already upon us.

It’s been over 50 years since the first Earth Day in 1970. As we commemorate this year’s edition, says WCS’s John Calvelli, there is a great deal of concern about our future. But there is also reason for optimism. One example comes from the Miombo Woodlands in Southern Africa.

In the Arctic today, spring thaw arrives days, sometimes weeks, earlier each decade. Cargo ships navigate newly ice-free routes, and a vanguard of southern wildlife species strike north from the shadowed protection of forests onto this softening tundra. Wolverines are an indicator of these transformations and Tom Glass wanted to know what studying them can tell us about this changing landscape.