Libreville, Gabonese Republic, February 26, 2025 - A 2-year project fostering peaceful human-elephant co-existence in Gabon was launched by the Minister of Water and Forests on 17 February. The project, with funding from the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), will be implemented with the government by the Wildlife Conservation Society in partnership with Space for Giants.  Gabon has been a champion for biodiversity conservation, with the latest nationwide forest elephants census c...

Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, February 25, 2025 - The thick canopy of the Congo rainforest and its luscious vegetation is a safe haven for a unique biodiversity—including rarely-seen wildlife, like the African Golden Cat, captured for the first time in high-definition in their natural environment in Congo. Emma Stokes, WCS Vice President, Field Conservation, long deployed in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park: “Tropical rainforests don't give up their secrets easily. You can spend...

LIMA, PERU, February 24, 2024—Experts from 12 countries in Latin America have together published the most comprehensive summary of conservation knowledge to date of the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), including the identification of the most important riverine areas providing habitat for this aquatic icon of the Amazon. Release of the report coincides with a meeting of the Otter Specialist Group Conference of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Lima, whi...

New York, Feb. 21, 2025 – WCS this week called for Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) to adopt a legally binding Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response Agreement that includes a robust and ambitious focus on preventing pandemics at the source. Negotiations for the agreement are ongoing, with the final talks to take place April 7-11 in Geneva at the WHO. If governments can reach consensus, the agreement will be adopted at the World Health Assembly in May at...

New York, Feb. 18, 2025 – The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has named Adam F. Falk as its next President and CEO. He will begin in the role at WCS on July 1.  Falk has served since 2018 as President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which makes grants to support research in the sciences and social sciences, the health of the higher education ecosystem, and the public understanding of science and technology. He served previously as President of Williams College and befor...

New York, February 13, 2025 — A new study released today reveals that peatlands — a vital carbon store that many people have never heard of — are dangerously under-protected, putting the global climate at risk. Covering just 3% of Earth’s surface, these terrestrial wetlands store 600 billion tons of carbon — more than all the world’s forest biomass combined — yet only 17% of peatlands fall within a protected area.  That figure stands in stark con...

BRONX, N.Y. — February 6, 2025 — A silvered langur baby, with a striking orange-colored coat, is debuting at the Bronx Zoo as it kicks off 2025. The silvered langur baby, born in November 2024, can now be seen by guests in the JungleWorld exhibit. The Bronx Zoo has one of the largest breeding groups of silvered langurs (Trachypithecus cristatus) in North America. There have been over 100 silvered langurs born at the Bronx Zoo since 1985 when JungleWorld opened. The Wildlife Conser...

BRONX, N.Y. — January 16, 2025 — Who needs roses and chocolates for Valentine’s Day when you can have a cockroach? Today, the Bronx Zoo announced that the popular, annual Name-a-Roach tradition returns this Valentine’s Day season to allow donors to symbolically name a Bronx Zoo Madagascar hissing cockroach after a loved one, or a not so loved one. The zoo’s cockroaches are located in the Madagascar! exhibit. For a $15 donation, guests will receive a digital certi...

(Pictured above, one of the two last known Swinhoe’s softshell turtles (Rafetus swinhoei). This photo was taken in May of 2022 in Dong Mo Lake, Vietnam.) NEW YORK, January 15, 2025 – Scientists have developed and validated a, first-of-its-kind, portable environmental DNA (eDNA) test to help detect the world’s rarest turtle, the Swinhoe’s softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei), which is teetering on the brink of extinction. Two of these turtles are curr...

NEW YORK, NY, January 8, 2025—Advances in data availability and accessibility have resulted in a groundbreaking new study on wild animal hunting in African tropical forests. It suggests that the commercial trade in wild-sourced meat is increasing, and highlights the urgent need for countries to develop robust frameworks to ensure hunting and trade is sustainable in a growing commercialized sector. The study, published in Nature Sustainability by lead authors Daniel Ingram (Durrell Insti...