With the emergence of a new zoonotic disease, H7N9, WCS’s Bird Coordinator Steve Zack reflects on the increasing mingling of birds, humans, and domesticated animals across the globe, and the need for improved management practices by poultry farms and markets.

New York (May 16, 2013) – In the new medical textbook, Jekel’s Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Preventive Medicine, and Public Health (Elsevier, 2013), Wildlife Conservation Society veterinarian and Director of Health Policy, Dr. Steve Osofsky, offers a holistic approach to meeting challenges that result from humanity’s ongoing population growth, globalization trends, and unsustainable demand for earth’s finite natural resources. As the human population grows and becomes more interconnected, there ...

On a recent expedition to CAR’s Dzanga Bai, part of a World Heritage Site, WCS President and CEO Cristián Samper witnessed first-hand the severity of the danger facing both elephants and the heroic rangers who protect them.

Hundreds of Elephants in Central African Republic’s Dzanga Bai may be massacred WCS appeals to neighboring countries and world community to stop slaughter NEW YORK (May 10, 2013) —The Wildlife Conservation Society issued statements today following reports that poachers killing elephants in the Central African Republic had entered Dzanga Bai, which is located in a World Heritage Site. Reports from the field indicate that elephants are being shot from where scientists and ...

Trio of mulefoot hogs are the three not-so-little pigs at the Queens Zoo Flushing, N.Y. – May 8, 2013 – The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo is now home to a trio of mulefoot hogs (Sus scrofa domesticus), a breed of domestic pig that is classified as critically rare by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. The mulefoot is different from other pig breeds in that they have single non-cloven hooves that resemble those of a mule, as its name implies. They are rare because they ...

Vote for New York’s favorite dinosaur at http://www.bronxzoo.com/dinovote Dinosaur Safari opens at the Bronx Zoo on Saturday, May 25, Memorial Day Weekend New York, NY – May. 7, 2013 – Dinosaur Safari is coming to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo beginning, Saturday, May 25, Memorial Day weekend. The new attraction will include a ride through the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods with more than two-dozen animatronic dinosaurs up to 40 feet long which move, snarl, ...

Why are so many whales dying in Argentine Patagonia? The southern right whales that use Península Valdés, Argentina as a nursery ground have suffered the largest mortality event ever recorded for the species in the world. At least 605 right whales have died along the Argentine coast since 2003, including 538 newborn calves. One hundred and thirteen calves died in 2012 alone. The Southern Right Whale Health Monitoring Program is working with scientists worldwide to determine why the whales a...

Conservation groups urge authorities to clamp down on black market trade Since the beginning of the year, more than 1,000 individual tortoises have been seized from would-be smugglers NEW YORK (May 2, 2013) — Illegal trafficking of two critically endangered tortoise species from Madagascar has reached epidemic proportions, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Turtle Survival Alliance, Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, Turtle Conservancy, Cons...

Honoring WCS Chair Ward WoodsThursday, June 6, 2013, Central Park Zoo, New York City New York, N.Y. – March 19, 2013 – The Wildlife Conservation Society will host its annual gala and after-party at WCS’s Central Park Zoo on Thursday, June 6, in celebration of the Wonders of Southeast Asia. WCS Chair of the Board Ward Woods will be honored for his commitment to conservation.This year’s event will highlight WCS’s work to protect wildlife and their habitats throughout the region of Thailand...

First images of peccaries eating fish in Brazil’s Pantanal indicate a more varied diet for the species NEW YORK (April 29, 2013)—It turns out the white-lipped peccary—a piglike animal from Central and South America—will settle for fish when fruits (its main food) are no longer on the menu, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society and partners revealing the first-ever photos of fish-eating peccaries. The images of fish consumption by white-lipped peccaries were taken by Douglas Fernandes ...