topic: Wcs

topic: Wcs

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‘We must never assume that a healthy planet is automatic’ says WCS’s new CEO Monica Medina
- Last month, Monica Medina became the President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). She is the first woman to lead the organization, which operates conservation projects in some 50 countries and runs a network of zoos and an aquarium in New York City.
- Medina has demonstrated a long-standing dedication to environmental issues and conservation across numerous roles spanning the private and public sector, including service in three presidential administrations since the 1990s.
- In a recent exchange, Medina spoke with Mongabay’s Founder and CEO Rhett A. Butler about her career journey and her aspirations for WCS.
- “We must never assume that a healthy planet is automatic. We can never take it for granted,” she said. “The Earth is our garden and we must always tend it. That is the responsibility of every generation and everyone everywhere. We will not have a healthy planet unless we work together—young and old all around the world—because conservation and environmental issues are intergenerational and global.”

A conservation paradigm based on Indigenous values in DR Congo (commentary)
- Colonialism and the gazettement of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park in eastern DRC led to the evictions of Batwa Indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands and a number of human rights abuses that continue today.
- To seek to address historical and contemporary injustices, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is emphasizing Indigenous values and entering a partnership with the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) to take actions that ensure that the rights of the Batwa peoples are respected and protected.
- This commentary is written by the Executive Director of Rights + Communities at the WCS, and a Congolese Lawyer and former Chairperson of the U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Achieving a ‘nature positive future’: an interview with Cristián Samper
- As an organization that has extensive field operations in about 60 countries and runs a network of zoos and an aquarium in New York City, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is unique among big conservation groups.
- Like most conservation organizations, WCS has faced great challenges over the past two years, but it is emerging from the pandemic with a new 2030 strategy that builds on its strengths and responds to trends in conservation and beyond.
- Cristián Samper, a Colombian biologist who has served as President and CEO of WCS since 2012, told Mongabay that WCS’s new strategy focuses on how it is uniquely positioned to address “three interconnected crises” we presently face: the loss of biodiversity, climate change, and pandemics.
- “The pandemic, which has impacted the lives of all people and all nations, has reminded us that we are all part of nature,” Samper said. “We are at an inflection point; a moment that demands new solutions to how we live and interact with nature.”

Scientists call for solving climate and biodiversity crises together
- A new report from United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) highlights the importance of confronting climate change and biodiversity loss together.
- Global climate change and the unprecedented loss of species currently underway result from a similar suite of human-driven causes, the report’s authors write.
- As a result, solutions that take both issues into account have the best chance of success, they conclude.

U.N. report lays out blueprint to end ‘suicidal war on nature’
- According to a new report from the United Nations Environmental Programme, the world faces three environmental “emergencies”: climate change, biodiversity loss, and air and water pollution.
- U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said we should view nature as “an ally,” not a foe, in the quest for sustainable human development.
- The report draws on assessments that quantify carbon emissions, species loss and pollutant flows to produce what the authors call concrete actions by governments, private companies and individuals that will help address these issues.

Southeast Asian wild pigs confront deadly African swine fever epidemic
- A recent study in the journal Conservation Letters warns that African swine fever, responsible for millions of pig deaths in mainland Asia since 2018, now endangers 11 wild pig species living in Southeast Asia.
- These pig species generally have low populations naturally, and their numbers have dwindled further due to hunting and loss of habitat.
- The authors of the study contend that losing these species could hurt local economies and food security.
- Southeast Asia’s wild pigs are also important ecosystem engineers that till the soil and encourage plant life, and they are prey for critically endangered predators such as the Sumatran tiger and the Javan leopard.

World’s protected areas lack connections, recent study finds
- A recent study, published in the journal Nature Communications, has found that 9.7% of the world’s protected areas are connected by land that’s considered intact.
- The study used the human footprint database, which maps out human impacts, such as roads and farmland, across the planet.
- The research showed that, while some countries have protected 17% of their land — a goal set forth in the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity’s Aichi targets — others, including repositories of biodiversity such as Vietnam and Madagascar, are lagging with little to no connectivity in their networks of reserves.
- The authors suggest that the research could help guide decisions on which areas of land to protect and how to connect them in a way that gives species the best shot at survival.

Bison: (Back) home on the range
- The Rosebud Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of South Dakota plans to bring the American bison back to around 11,300 hectares (28,000 acres) of prairie on the reservation.
- Over the next five years, tribal groups will work with WWF and the U.S. Department of the Interior to release as many as 1,500 bison on the Wolakota Buffalo Range, which would make it the largest Native American-owned herd in North America.
- The Lakota people of Rosebud have an abiding connection with the bison, or buffalo, and the leaders of the project say that, in addition to the symbolic importance of returning the Lakotas’ “relatives” to their land, the herd will help create jobs, restore the ecological vigor of the landscape, and aid in the conservation of the species.

Cost-effective conservation: Study identifies key ‘umbrella’ species
- A new study has found that incorporating threats, actions and costs into the selection of priority species for conservation can markedly increase the efficiency of these efforts.
- The researchers created a new list of “umbrella” species for Australia, incorporating these factors.
- They found that the new list of umbrella species would lend protection to 46% of Australia’s threatened species — a sevenfold increase over the current list.

Science-backed policy boosts critically endangered Nassau grouper
- A study, published Jan. 6, has found that the population of Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) around Little Cayman Island more than tripled between 2003 and 2015.
- The researchers attribute the rebound to a scientific monitoring effort by NGOs and universities as well as the Cayman Islands government response to the data.
- The government has closed the fishery and instituted size and catch limits to protect the critically endangered species.

10 noteworthy books on conservation and the environment from 2019
- 2019 produced a number of notable books on the environment, ranging from the memoirs of researchers and journalists to how-to guides and prescient novels.
- Here’s a sample of what was published in the past year.
- They cut across a variety of environment-related themes, though climate change is a common point of meditation for many of the authors on the list.
- Inclusion on this list does not imply Mongabay’s endorsement of a book’s content; the views in the books are those of the authors and not necessarily Mongabay.

Deforestation for potential rubber plantation raises concerns in Papua New Guinea
- The project, ostensibly for a 125-square-kilometer (48-square-mile) rubber plantation, began in mid-2018.
- Satellite imagery shows that Maxland, working with a local landowner company, has built logging roads and deforested patches of the Great Central Forest on Manus Island.
- Like Papua New Guinea as a whole, Manus is home to a wide variety of unique wildlife — just one aspect of the forest on which human communities have depended for thousands of years.
- Government forestry and environment officials were aware of the importance of the forest and a local forest management committee protested the project before it began, but it’s been allowed to continue anyway.

Healthy ecosystems, healthy humans: ‘One Health’ broadens its scope
- At an Oct. 25 conference in Berlin, conservation and public health leaders issued 10 principles aimed at encouraging cross-disciplinary research and efforts to address both human health and environmental problems.
- The principles, part of the One Health movement, grew out of the Manhattan Principles introduced in 2004.
- The declaration acknowledges that the world’s poor often suffer the most as a result of environmental degradation.
- However, the conference organizers point out that climate change has global reach and must be addressed from both the environmental and health perspectives.

Finding hope in ‘extreme conservation’ (Insider)
- A Mongabay staff writer shares an account of his trek to see mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- From a low of 250 individuals in the 1980s, the mountain gorilla subspecies now numbers more than 1,000, making it the only great ape whose population is growing.
- Those gains have come thanks to the “extreme conservation” practiced by a dedicated group of people who have worked to ensure the survival of one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.
- This post is insider content, which is available to paying subscribers.

International wildlife trade sweeps across ‘tree of life,’ study finds
- About one in five land animals are caught up in the global wildlife trade, a new study has found.
- The research identified species traded as pets or for products they provide, and then mapped the animals’ home ranges, identifying “hotspots” around the world.
- The team also found that nearly 3,200 other species may be affected by the wildlife trade in the future.
- The study’s authors say they believe their work could help authorities protect species before trade drives their numbers down.

Study tracks first incursion of poachers into ‘pristine’ African forest
- Researchers logged the first evidence of elephant poaching in a remote, pristine section of Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the northern Republic of Congo.
- The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, also revealed unique behavior changes between gorillas and chimpanzees as a result of selective logging.
- The research highlights the need to incorporate the results of biodiversity surveys into plotting out the locations of areas set aside for conservation.

Wilderness cuts the risk of extinction for species in half
- Wilderness areas buffer species against the risk of extinction, reducing it by more than half, a new study shows.
- Places with lots of unique species and wilderness with the last remaining sections of good habitat for certain species had a more pronounced impact on extinction risk.
- The authors contend that safeguarding the last wild places should be a conservation priority alongside the protection and restoration of heavily impacted “hotspots.”

Notes from the road: 5 revelations from traveling the Pan Borneo Highway
- Construction of the Pan Borneo Highway will add or expand more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) of roadway in Malaysian Borneo.
- Mongabay staff writer John Cannon spent several weeks traveling the proposed route in July 2019 to understand the effects, both positive and negative, the road could have on communities, wildlife and ecosystems.
- The project is designed to energize the economies of the region, and though officials have responded to entreaties from NGOs to minimize the harmful impacts of the road, they remain singularly focused on the economic benefits that proponents say the highway will bring.

Congo government opens Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park to oil exploration
- In 2018, the government of the Republic of Congo opened up several blocks of land for oil exploration overlapping with important peatlands and a celebrated national park.
- According to a government website, the French oil company Total holds the exploration rights for those blocks.
- Conservationists were alarmed that the government would consider opening up parks and peatlands of international importance for oil exploration, while also trying to garner funds for their protection on the world stage.

Primates lose ground to surging commodity production in their habitats
- “Forest risk” commodities, such as beef, palm oil, and fossil fuels, led to a significant proportion of the 1.8 million square kilometers (695,000 square miles) of forest that was cleared between 2001 and 2017 — an area almost the size of Mexico.
- A previous study found that 60 percent of primates face extinction and 75 percent of species’ numbers are declining.
- The authors say that addressing the loss of primate habitat due to the production of commodities is possible, though it will require a global effort to “green” the international trade in these commodities.

Altered forests threaten sustainability of subsistence hunting
- In a commentary, two conservation scientists say that changes to the forests of Central and South America may mean that subsistence hunting there is no longer sustainable.
- Habitat loss and commercial hunting have put increasing pressure on species, leading to the loss of both biodiversity and a critical source of protein for these communities.
- The authors suggest that allowing the hunting of only certain species, strengthening parks and reserves, and helping communities find alternative livelihoods and sources of food could help address the problem, though they acknowledge the difficult nature of these solutions.

The health of penguin chicks points scientists to changes in the ocean
- A recent closure of commercial fishing around South Africa’s Robben Island gave scientists the chance to understand how fluctuations in prey fish populations affect endangered African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) absent pressure from humans.
- The researchers found that the more fish were available, the better the condition of the penguin chicks that rely on their parents for food.
- This link between prey abundance in the sea and the condition of penguin chicks on land could serve as an indicator of changes in the ecosystem.

Interest in protecting environment up since Pope’s 2015 encyclical
- New research into the usage of environmentally related search terms on Google suggests that interest in the environment has risen since Pope Francis released Laudato Si’ in 2015.
- Laudato Si’, a papal encyclical, argues that it is a moral imperative for humans to look after the environment.
- Researchers and scholars believe that the pope’s support for protecting the environment could ripple well beyond the 16 percent of the world’s population that is Catholic.

Public education could curb bushmeat demand in Laos, study finds
- A recent survey of markets in Laos found that the demand for bushmeat in urban areas was likely more than wildlife populations could bear.
- The enforcement of Laos’s laws controlling the wildlife trade appeared to do little to keep vendors from selling bushmeat, but fines did appear to potentially keep consumers from buying bushmeat.
- The researchers also found that consumers could be turned off of buying bushmeat when they learned of specific links between species and diseases.

’Unprecedented’ loss of biodiversity threatens humanity, report finds
- The U.N.’s Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services released a summary of far-reaching research on the threats to biodiversity on May 6.
- The findings are dire, indicating that around 1 million species of plants and animals face extinction.
- The full 1,500-page report, to be released later this year, raises concerns about the impacts of collapsing biodiversity on human well-being.

Scientists urge overhaul of the world’s parks to protect biodiversity
- A team of scientists argues that we should evaluate the effectiveness of protected areas based on the outcomes for biodiversity, not simple the area of land or ocean they protect.
- In a paper published April 11 in the journal Science, they outline the weaknesses of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11, which set goals of protecting 17 percent of the earth’s surface and 10 percent of its oceans by 2020.
- They propose monitoring the outcomes of protected areas that measure changes in biodiversity in comparison to agreed-upon “reference” levels and then using those figures to determine how well they are performing.

New maps show where humans are pushing species closer to extinction
- A new study maps out how disruptive human changes to the environment affect the individual ranges of more than 5,400 mammal, bird and amphibian species around the world.
- Almost a quarter of the species are threatened by human impacts in more than 90 percent of their range, and at least one human impact occurred in an average of 38 percent of the range of a given species.
- The study also identified “cool” spots, where concentrations of species aren’t negatively impacted by humans.
- The researchers say these “refugia” are good targets for conservation efforts.

What’s in a name? The role of defining ‘wilderness’ in conservation
- In a recent opinion piece published in the journal Nature, several ecologists question recent efforts to delineate areas of wilderness and intactness around the world to define conservation targets.
- They argue that it would be better to build broadly supported consensus that includes the perspectives of local and indigenous communities.
- But the leader of a team that recently mapped out the remaining wilderness on land and in the ocean said that identifying these areas and developing new targets that incorporate their conservation is critical because current international agreements do not prioritize their protection.

Urbanization in Asia provides a window of hope for tigers, study finds
- The transition to cities by Asia’s human population is likely to affect the continent’s remaining tiger populations, according to a new study.
- Depending on policy decisions around migration, urbanization, education and economics, the trend toward urbanization could provide more space for tiger numbers to rebound.
- A team of researchers modeled five different “socioeconomic pathways” for the continent, showing that a focus on sustainable living could result in fewer than 40 million people living within the tiger’s range by the end of the century.
- But that number could also balloon to more than 106 million people if countries veer away from international cooperation and poor management of urbanization.

Conservation groups press world leaders to protect 30% of the planet
- Thirteen nature conservation organizations are urging world leaders to back a plan to protect 30 percent of the world’s surface and oceans by 2030.
- Recent research has shown that less than a quarter of the world’s wilderness still remains.
- The group released a statement as negotiators were meeting in Japan to begin drafting a plan to meet that goal.

Wildlife rangers in DRC park report waning motivation, job satisfaction
- Surveys of more than 60 rangers in Kahuzi-Biega National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo cite poor salaries, few chances for advancement, and security concerns as reasons for their low satisfaction with their jobs.
- The authors of the study, published in the journal Oryx, believe that the rangers’ discontentment leads to waning motivation in protecting the park and its wildlife, which includes the critically endangered Grauer’s gorilla.
- Improved conditions, in the form of better salaries, opportunities for promotion, and better support from the judicial and legal authorities, could translate into improved protections for the park, the researchers write.

Cyclone harmed Fijian crab fishery in 2016, research finds
- Research published in the journal Climate and Development demonstrates that Tropical Cyclone Winston damaged mud-crab fisheries in Fiji in 2016.
- Surveys of the mostly women crab fishers in Bua province before and after Winston, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, revealed that mud crabs were smaller and less numerous following the cyclone.
- The research could help government agencies address the lingering impacts of natural disasters to community fisheries.

Dam drove ‘collapse’ of rainforest bird populations in Thailand
- A 165-square-kilometer (64-square-mile) reservoir in the lowland rainforest of Thailand has led to the “collapse” of the region’s bird populations, according to recent research.
- Built in 1986, the Ratchaprapha dam altered the habitat and led to deforestation, resulting in the decline of many species and the local extinction of perhaps five.
- The authors of the study say their findings highlight concerns about whether hydroelectric dams “are worth the environmental costs.”

Bolivia’s Madidi National Park home to world’s largest array of land life, survey finds
- A two-and-a-half-year biological survey of Madidi National Park in Bolivia added 1,382 species and subspecies of plants and animals to the list of those living in the park.
- The team believes that 124 species and subspecies may be new to science.
- WCS, the organization that led the study, said the 18,958-square-kilometer (7,320-square-mile) park is the world’s most biodiverse protected area.

Chelsea, Hillary Clinton urge action to save elephants

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton on stage at the WCS event at the Central Park Zoo June 12, 2014. Photo © Julie Larsen Maher / WCS. Former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter Chelsea are urging for further action to protect elephants from the devastating ivory trade. Speaking last night at a fundraiser […]
Gabon steps in to help protect elephants from ivory poaching at Central African Republic site

Gabon has agreed to help battle poaching in protected areas in the Central African Republic following an elephant massacre at a renowned World Heritage site, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). According to the conservation group, Michel Djotodia, acting president of the Central African Republic (CAR) transitional government, and Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba met […]
New York Aquarium entirely ‘underwater’

Update: New York Aquarium closed indefinitely The WCS New York Aquarium sits on the boardwalk of Coney Island. Photo by: David Shankbone. Hurricane Sandy, which brought storm surges that reportedly reached 14 feet to New York City, has put the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium “under water,” according to a statement from the organization. […]
Photos: Asia’s disappearing species

Endangered Bornean orangutans in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Orangutans are threatened by palm oil development, conversion of forests to pulp and paper plantations, the pet trade, and subsistence hunting. Photo by Rhett A. Butler To highlight the plight of Asia’s biodiversity, which is facing a range of threats from deforestation to the wildlife trade, the Wildlife […]
Manta rays tracked by satellite

Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the University of Exeter, and the Government of Mexico have published the first-ever satellite telemetry study on the manta ray, the world’s largest ray species. The findings will help inform ecosystem-based management plans for the rays, which are in decline worldwide due to fishing and accidental capture. Photo credit: […]
Photo: stunning view from a new trail in Tierra del Fuego

Karukinka’s La Paciencia Valley. Photo © Wildlife Conservation Society Conservationists are opening a 34 kilometer (21.3 mile) trekking trail in Chile’s Tierra del Fuego. The trail will connect stunning uplands to coastal areas in Karukinka Natural Park, a 294,999-hectare (728,960 acres) protected area on the island of Tierra del Fuego owned and managed by the […]
Sowing the seeds to save the Patagonian Sea

The coastline of the ‘Patagonian Sea’ covered with seabirds and seals. Photo by: W. Conway. Claudio Campagna will be speaking at the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo in San Francisco on October 1st, 2011. With wild waters and shores, the Patagonia Sea is home to a great menagerie of marine animals: from penguins to elephants seals, […]
Viable population of snow leopards still roam Afghanistan (pictures)

Snow leopard in the Wakhan Corridor caught on camera trap. Photo by: Wildlife Conservation Society. Decades of war and poverty has not exterminated snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in Afghanistan according to a new paper in the International Journal of Environmental Studies, written by researchers with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Instead the researchers report a […]
Pictures: Massive natural arch discovered in Afghanistan

Hazarchishma Natural Bridge. Photo by Ayub Alavi/WCS Researchers in Afghanistan have discovered one of the world’s largest natural arches, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The arch, located on the northern part of the Bamyan plateau in Central Afghanistan, spans over 200 feet across its base. “It’s one of the most spectacular discoveries ever made […]
Escaped Bronx Zoo cobra found! (picture)

The missing Bronx Zoo cobra has been recaptured. Photo by Julie Larsen Maher of WCS. The missing Bronx Zoo cobra that became a pop culture sensation and caused consternation among some New York residents whas been found after a thorough search of the zoo’s Reptile House. The escaped serpent was found in a non-public, off-exhibit […]
Top 25 most endangered turtles: Asian species in crisis

Surviving hundreds of millions of years on Earth have not saved turtles from facing extinction at human hands. A new report by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Turtle Conservation Coalition, identifies the world’s 25 most imperiled turtles, including one that is practically assured extinction: ‘Lonesome George’ the last Abdington Island tortoise in the […]
The role of wildlife conservation in human health

Steve Osofsky, wildlife veterinarian and also Director of Wildlife Health Policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), spoke with Laurel Neme on her “The WildLife” radio show and podcast about the intersection between wildlife, livestock and human health, and how paying attention to all three in tandem leads to better outcomes for all. This interview […]
Vultures rebound in Cambodia; only Asian country with rising population

The number of threatened vultures in Cambodia is on the rise according to a new survey by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other members of the Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project. The annual census found 296 birds among the country’s three vulture species: the white-rumped, red-headed, and slender billed. The population of the latter two species […]
Crackdown on illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam

A sweep of restaurants in Vietnam’s Lam Dong Province turned up hundreds of pounds of illegal wildlife products, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). More than 100 officers from the Lam Dong Forest Protection Department confiscated over 850 pounds of wildlife including meat, animal parts, and skins during raids conducted last week in Da Lat […]
Lion populations plummet in Uganda’s parks

Lion populations across Uganda’s park system have declined 40 percent in less than a decade, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The results, based on the country’s first ever carnivore survey, indicate that bushmeat poaching remains a problem in one of Africa’s most biodiverse countries. Hunters poach lion prey animals and kill lions as […]
Farming snails to save the world’s rarest gorillas

In a place of poverty and hunger, how do you save a species on the edge of extinction? A difficult question that conservationists have long-been working to tackle, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has come up with a new plan to protect the world’s most endangered gorilla, the Cross River gorilla, from poachers by providing […]
Once common tortoise from Madagascar will be ‘extinct in 20 years’

The radiated tortoise, once common throughout Madagascar, faces extinction within the next 20 years due to poaching for its meat and the illegal pet trade, according to biologists with the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Returning from field surveys in southern Madagascar’s spiny forest, they found regions without a single […]
Savior of endangered crocodiles dies of malaria

Crocodile-expert and conservationist, Dr. John Thorbjarnarson, died of falciparum malaria in India on February 14th at the age of fifty-two. While many conservationists work with publicly popular animals like tigers and whales, Thorbjarnarson’s passion was for crocodiles. A Senior Conservation Scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Thorbjarnarson proved instrumental in saving both the Orinoco […]
Head of UN urges ‘a wake-up call’ to save biodiversity

Speaking at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that “business as usual is not an option” to protect the world’ s biodiversity. The failure of governments worldwide to meet their pledges to protect biodiversity by 2010 is “a wake up call” according to Ki-moon. Ki-moon […]
Bronx Zoo puts ‘extinct’ frogs on display

The Bronx Zoo has a put a most unusual frog on display: the Kihansi spray toad. For one thing, the Kihansi spray toad survived on only 5 acres in the Kihansi gorge in Tanzania, adapted to the areas’ unique and constant mist from the gorge and a waterfall. For another, female Kihansi spray toads give […]
Breeding area of ‘world’s least known bird’ discovered in Afghanistan

Named in 2007 the ‘world’s least known bird’, the large-billed reed warbler has officially lost that title as researchers with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have discovered its breeding ground in the remote Wakham Corridor in the Pamir Mountains of Afghanistan. “Practically nothing is known about this species, so this discovery of the breeding area […]
World’s rarest gorilla caught on film

The first ever professional footage of the world’s rarest gorilla, the Cross River gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla diehli), has been shot deep in the forested mountains of Cameroon. The only other existing footage of this Critically Endangered subspecies was taken from far away by a field researcher in 2005. After weeks of effort, the Hamburg-based […]
New reserve created in Cambodia with REDD in mind

Cambodia’s Royal Government’s Council of Ministers has declared the creation of the Seima Protection Forest, a 1,100 square miles (2,849 square kilometers) park home to tigers, elephants, and endangered primates. The park’s creation was developed in part by the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) “Carbon for Conservation” program, which intends to protect high-biodiversity ecosystems while raising […]
Vlad the Impaler of the bird world now at Bronx Zoo: skewers prey on thorns and barbed wire

The loggerhead shrike, also known as the ‘butcher bird’, employs a feeding strategy that would have been right at home in 15th Century Transylvania. Like the infamous Vlad the Impaler (the brutal prince which Bram Stoker based Dracula off), the loggerhead shrike is truly skilled at impaling. Using its hooked beak to break the spines […]
Photo: baby mongoose born at the Bronx Zoo

Three dwarf mongoose were recently born at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo. Native to sub-Saharan Africa, the dwarf mongoose is the smallest carnivore in Africa. The species lives in small groups led by a dominant male and female. They feed primarily on insects, including termites, beetles, grasshoppers, locusts, grubs and larvae, and generally weigh […]
Critically-endangered turtle seen in the wild for the first time by scientists

Scientists have stumbled on the Arakan forest turtle for the first time in the wild, according to a report by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). One of the world’s rarest turtles, the Arakan forest turtle was thought to be extinct for 86 years, before being discovered in an Asian food market in 1994. It has […]
New non-invasive painkiller developed for the world’s biggest cats

Photos: snow leopard in Afghanistan

Photos: Okapi born this spring at the Bronx Zoo makes first public appearance

An okapi calf born this spring at the Bronx Zoo made its first public appearance, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society. The endangered forest giraffe, which has been named Mbaya, is the fourth calf born to her mother at the Bronx Zoo’s Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit. she weighed 65 pounds at birth. “We are pleased that […]
Photos: 5 baby lemurs born at the Bronx Zoo

Five baby lemurs have been born at the Bronx Zoo’s Madagascar exhibit in the year since it opened, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society. Three red ruffed lemurs, one collared lemur and one Coquerel’s sifaka were born at the exhibit. Jim Breheny, Director of the Bronx Zoo and Senior Vice President of WCS’s Living Institutions, said […]
Father’s Day Photo: Male lion with daughter

To celebrate Father’s Day, the Wildlife Conservation Society released this photo of the lion, “M’wasi”, and his daughter Moxie taken at the Bronx Zoo by photographer Julie Larsen Maher. The lion is the second largest cat after the tiger. It ranges from Sub-Saharan Africa to India. The Bronz Zoo is open 365 days a year.
Photos: camera traps capture snow leopards in Afghanistan

It has been estimated that Afghanistan only has 100 snow leopards left, however photos from camera traps placed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) show that there may be hope for snow leopards in the war-torn nation after all. Working in Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor, WCS set up five camera traps. Four of the five camera […]
International community calls for action against gangs’ illegal logging in Madagascar
Six nations and three conservation organizations have issued a statement calling for action against illegal logging in Madagascar’s protected areas. Following a political coup, in which former President Marc Ravalomanana was driven out of power and replaced by Andry Rajoelina, park rangers abandoned their positions and armed bands raided Marojejy and Masoala National Parks for […]
Another milestone in Afghanistan: listing of endangered species

Thirty-three species are included in Afghanistan’s first-ever listing of protected wildlife. Well-known animals like the snow leopard, wolves, and brown bears received full legal protection from hunting and harvesting alongside lesser-known species like the paghman salamander, goitered gazelle, and Himalayan elm tree. The protected species list consists of twenty mammals, seven birds, four plants, one […]
Vietnam’s commercial wildlife farms threaten Asia’s species

Commercial wildlife farms are not alleviating pressure on wild populations as claimed by proponents, but exacerbating the problem according to a new report by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Vietnam’s Forest Protection Department. Such farms, which rear snakes, turtles, crocodiles, tigers, monkeys, and other—often rare—species, are meant to provide customers throughout Southeast Asia with […]
After seizure, gorilla receives MRI scan free of charge

The Wildlife Conservation Society announced today that a 42-year-old western lowland gorilla named Fubo received a free MRI scan after suffering a seizure at his home in the Bronx Zoo’s Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit. The MRI was provided by The Brain Tumor Foundation, which sent a 48-foot-long moveable MRI facility to the zoo. Overseen by […]
Cameroon gets gorilla park

Love puppet used to teach bird how to find mate

Camera trap photos reveal bushmeat hunting threat to jaguars in Ecuador

Self-Portraits Help Count Cats: WCS Research Fellow Santiago Espinosa Conducts First-ever Jaguar Census in Ecuador
Wildlife trade creating ’empty forest syndrome’ across the globe

China and USA largest importers of illegal wildlife goods For many endangered species it is not the lack of suitable habitat that has imperiled them, but hunting. In a talk at a Smithsonian Symposium on tropical forests, Elizabeth Bennett of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) outlined the perils for many species of the booming and […]
Population of Asian elephants discovered in Malaysian park

A population of 631 Asian elephants has been documented in Malaysia’s Taman Negara National Park, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The population may be the largest in Southeast Asia. Scientists from WCS and Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) counted elephant dung piles to estimate the protected area’s population size. There were […]
Indonesian coral reef recovering after devastating tsunami and years of destructive fishing

“Baby corals” appear in wake of tsunami, cyanide, and dynamite
Fear and conservation

Fear and conservation Fear and conservation WCS December 10, 2008
Researchers catch, then release, world’s rarest big cat in Russia

Researchers catch, then release, world’s rarest big cat in Russia Researchers catch, then release, world’s rarest big cat in Russia WCS October 30, 2008
Urban black bears live recklessly compared to their forest counterparts

Urban black bears live recklessly compared to their forest counterparts Urban black bears live recklessly compared to their forest counterparts WCS September 30, 2008 Black bears that live around urban areas weigh more, get pregnant at a younger age, and are more likely to die violent deaths, according to a study by the Wildlife Conservation […]
Moose Mission in New York’s Adirondacks

Moose Mission in New York’s Adirondacks Moose Mission Story and photos by Julie Larsen Maher special to mongabay.com September 5, 2008 Bushwhacking our way through nearly impenetrable bogs and blow down in the central woods of the Adirondacks in northern New York, I am wondering…how can a MOOSE move through this stuff? Weighing nearly 1400 […]
Cameroon and Nigeria to protect world’s rarest gorilla

Cameroon and Nigeria to protect world’s rarest gorilla Cameroon and Nigeria to protect world’s rarest gorilla mongabay.com September 5, 2008 Cameroon and Nigeria have agreed to protect the the Cross River gorilla, world’s most endangered gorilla, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society, which helped broker the deal. The two West African nations will cooperate to protect […]
Photo: commonly-kept gecko was thought to be extinct in the wild

Yellow toad births offer hope for extinct-in-the-wild species Yellow toad births offer hope for extinct-in-the-wild species Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com September 4, 2008 The birth of Kihansi spray toadlets at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo has renewed hopes that the species can someday be successfully reintroduced to its natural habitat in a remote gorge […]
Brazil asks rich countries to fund Amazon conservation

Brazil asks rich countries to fund Amazon rainforest conservation Brazil asks rich countries to fund Amazon rainforest conservation mongabay.com August 2, 2008 Brazil makes it clear that it will not tolerate any foreign influence on its Amazon policy Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva officially unveiled plans to raise billions of dollars for protecting […]
Photos of surgery on an injured red-tailed hawk

Photos of surgery on a red-tailed hawk Photos of surgery on a red-tailed hawk mongabay.com August 1, 2008 The Wildlife Health Center is a 30,000-square-foot medical and applied research facility located on the grounds of the Bronx Zoo. The facility houses specialized areas for the performance of pathology exams as well as suites for sterile […]
Critically endangered fruit bat born in New York City

Photo: Critically endangered fruit bat born in New York City Critically endangered fruit bat born in New York City mongabay.com August 1, 2008 A critically endangered fruit bat was born last month at the Bronx Zoo. The female Rodriguez fruit bat was born July 6 and has been named “Buffy” by staff Veterinarians at the […]
Photo: World’s oldest Fly River Turtle turns 50

Photo: World’s oldest Fly River Turtle turns 50 Photo: World’s oldest Fly River Turtle turns 50 mongabay.com July 31, 2008 Last Saturday “Freddy”, a Fly River Turtle, turned 50. He is the oldest known individual of his species. Staff from the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo Reptile Department treated Freddy to a turtle biscuit and […]
Photo: Wild animals need regular physicals just like humans

Photo: Wild animals need regular physicals just like humans Photo: Wild animals need regular physicals just like humans WCS / mongabay.com June 25, 2008 Dr. Paul Calle, Wildlife Conservation Society Director of Zoological Health, assisted by Pam Manning Torres, veterinarian technician supervisor, checks little Bella’s teeth as part of her regularly scheduled health exam. Bella […]
Photo: Red ruffed lemur at the Bronx Zoo’s new Madagascar exhibit

Photo: Red ruffed lemur at the Bronx Zoo’s new Madagascar exhibit Photo: Red ruffed lemur at the Bronx Zoo’s new Madagascar exhibit WCS / mongabay.com June 25, 2008 The critters in Madagascar! the Wildlife Conservation Society’s new immersion exhibit at the Bronx Zoo are really enjoying their new home. Pictured here are a few of […]
Photo: brown collared lemur at the Bronx Zoo’s new Madagascar exhibit

Photo: brown collared lemur at the Bronx Zoo’s new Madagascar exhibit Photo: brown collared lemur at the Bronx Zoo’s new Madagascar exhibit WCS / mongabay.com June 25, 2008 Vivienne, a brown collared lemur, is leaping for joy inside her new Madagascar! home at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo. On her first full day of […]

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