VIDEO NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Mary Dixon: 347-840-1242; mdixon@wcs.org

John Delaney: 718-220-3275; jdelaney@wcs.org

WCS Animal Video Welcomes Pope Francis to New York

View and share the video: https://youtu.be/nTqG-KYT7bw

 Read Dr. Cristián Samper’s Huffington Post Blog on Pope Francis’s NYC Visit

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-cristian-samper/pope-francis-a-spokesman_b_8176396.html

WCS Newsroom: http://newsroom.wcs.org/

@WCSNewsroom: https://twitter.com/WCSNewsroom

New York – September 23, 2015 – Pope Francis’s visit to the Big Apple this week is sparking a celebration, especially among the striped, finned, and feathered at WCS’s zoos and aquarium.

To commemorate the Pope’s first visit to New York City and the United States, WCS has produced a welcome video featuring penguins, gorillas, tortoises, gibbons, sea lions, and other inhabitants of WCS’s Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and Central Park Zoo. The video acknowledges Pope Francis’s emergence as a powerful spokesperson for conservation.

The Pope’s visit to New York City this week will include an address to world leaders at the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

In addition to being the religious leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, Pope Francis has also become an outspoken advocate for environmental causes. His recent messages have included comments on the threat of climate change to the world’s people, the need for environmental stewardship, and the importance of biodiversity.

In a recent encyclical released by the Vatican in June, the Pope stated: “Because all creatures are connected, each must be cherished with love and respect, for all of us as living creatures are dependent on one another.”

“Pope Francis has become an important ally in our efforts to save the planet for humanity as he comments on the responsibility we all share in protecting the environment and all of its inhabitants,” said John Calvelli, WCS Executive Vice President for Public Affairs. “His words and actions are a constant reminder of the interdependence of all species on Earth. The short video is our way of giving a voice to the wildlife that has benefited from his inspirational message.”

WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society)

MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: 347-840-1242.