New York, August 22, 2024 – This Friday, August 23, marks the first celebration of International Guanaco Day, a celebratory day agreed upon by 40 governmental, academic, Indigenous, and civil society organizations, mainly from the countries inhabited by this native herbivore (Lama guanicoe) that connects landscapes and cultures in South America. Over the past 200 years, the guanaco population has decreased from around 20 million individuals to approximately 2.5 million. Currently, ...

Credit: WCS Indonesia/Cani Marcus Singkil Wildlife Reserve in Aceh Province in Indonesia has the highest density of Sumatran orangutans, a critically endangered great ape species, only found in the northern part of Sumatra. They use twigs and branches to collect insects and worms inside tree trunks to adapt their lifestyle with the swampy habitat there. The Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve is a habitat for Critically Endangered and protected Sumatran orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and other spe...

Calabar, Nigeria, August 16, 2024 -- As Nigeria's elephant population approaches survival threshold, the federal government, supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Elephant Protection Initiative, has adopted a ten-year plan to protect the country's remaining 400 pachyderms. While its elephant population has declined by 99%, Nigeria has become the main exit point for wildlife products from Africa, with nearly a quarter of the world's seized ivory shipped throug...

Queens, New York, August 15, 2024 – A southern pudu fawn, one of the smallest deer species in the world, is debuting at the Queens Zoo. Born on June 21at about 2 pounds, the fawn shares a habitat with its parents at the Queens Zoo’s Wild Side. The species, when fully grown, can weigh up to 15 to 20 pounds and stand 14-17 inches tall.  The Queens Zoo breeds southern pudu, listed as Near-Threatened by IUCN, as recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species...

CAMEROON, August 13, 2024—Ramping up protection efforts of Endangered Central African lions, a team of Cameroonian rangers and biologists from the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), has placed GPS collars on seven of the big cats in Cameroon’s Bouba Ndjidda National Park; this brings the number of collared lions to ten. The collaring is part of a long-term effort by the government of Cameroon and WCS to recover Bouba Ndjidda’s wi...

Bronx, NY, August 8, 2024 – A red-crowned crane chick, one of the largest and most threatened crane species in the world, is debuting at the Bronx Zoo.  The chick hatched on June 8th and can be found with its parents at the zoo’s Northern Ponds. The zoo now has three red-crowned cranes, also known as the Japanese crane or Manchurian crane.  The Bronx Zoo is breeding these birds as part of an AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquarium...

New York, NY, August 7, 2024 – A new study from WCS reveals that community capacity-building interventions, even those with only indirect environmental links, significantly improved perceptions of fisheries management and conservation in coastal fishing villages in East Africa. The most notable positive changes were observed among women, youth, and initially skeptical communities. This groundbreaking social change research shows that targeted educational and engagement efforts can ...

Madidi National Park, Bolivia, August 5, 2024 – A recent study in Madidi National Park showed that the diversity of amphibians found in this protected area exceeds the diversity reported for other megadiverse protected areas in the tropical Andes, such as Manu in Peru or Yasuní in Ecuador. This finding further suggests, according to a new paper published in Herpetology Notes, that Madidi may be the most diverse national protected area in the world. The study further inclu...

Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, August 5, 2024 – An innovative public-private collaboration, the Peripheral Ecosystem Management Project (PROGEPP), is celebrating 25 years of protecting gorillas, elephants, and other wildlife and for empowering local communities.  Established in 1999, PROGEPP is a unique collaboration between the Ministry of Forest Economy, Olam Agri’s Wood Business - Congolaise Industrielle de Bois (CIB), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which ai...