QUEENS, NY, Dec. 11, 2025 — The Queens Zoo today released a short, heart-warming video featuring two young Andean bears playing with a tree branch. The moment captured on video by a guest at the zoo, Ursula McDermott, shows the bears playing with a branch with a see-saw movement. The pair includes Coya a female bear almost two years old, and Ransisku, a male almost four years old. Coya is on the right and Ransisku is on the left in the video. “As young bears, Coya and Ransis...

Kampala, Uganda, December 10, 2025—The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been honored with the 13th Visionaries of Uganda Award, receiving the designation of “Wildlife Environmental Conservation Organization of the Year” from the Government of the Republic of Uganda. The award, presented at the national Visionaries of Uganda ceremony on 27 November 2025, recognizes WCS for its “Outstanding Contribution Towards Uganda’s Middle Income Status Aspiration and Vi...

Bronx, NY, December 9, 2025—The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) today offered the following tribute upon the death of Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, a towering figure in wildlife conservation whose research, passion, and leadership helped shape global efforts to protect elephants: “Iain Douglas-Hamilton was among the greatest conservationists of his generation. His pioneering fieldwork revealed truths about elephant society and population decline that the world could no longe...

Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Dec. 5, 2025 – As the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP20) concluded, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) welcomed a series of landmark decisions that will strengthen trade regulations for threatened species—including many heavily targeted by the global pet trade—while also warning that several decisions could jeopardize hard-won conserva...

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan (December 3, 2025)—The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) today applauded the decision by Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to transfer both Galápagos marine and land iguanas from Appendix II to Appendix I—the highest level of protection under the treaty. The vote, taken during the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, recognizes the mounting pressu...

Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Nov. 28, 2025—The Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) commends today’s decision by Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to list the endangered okapi (Okapia johnstoni) on Appendix I. This highest level of international protection will prohibit all international commercial trade in okapi or their parts, as well as sub-pr...

Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Nov. 28, 2025 – Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) today voted to allow international commercial trade in saiga horn from Kazakhstan under newly established quotas—a move strongly opposed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).  The original proposal to lift the zero-export quota for wild Saiga tatarica was adopted with amendments to limit exports to 10,000 kilog...

Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Nov. 28, 2025 – The following statement was issued today from CITES CoP20, celebrating the sweeping and historic adoption of new international trade protections for sharks and rays. Said Luke Warwick, Director of Shark and Ray Conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society: “This is a landmark victory, and it belongs to the Parties who championed these protections. Countries across Latin America, Africa, the Pacific, and Asia came together in a powerfu...

Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Nov. 27, 2025 – CITES CoP20 Parties voted to list oceanic whitetip sharks on Appendix I, the highest level of protection offered by CITES. The vote marks a major victory for one of the most imperiled shark species on the planet. “Today’s decision is a watershed moment for all sharks and rays,” said Luke Warwick, Director of Shark & Ray Conservation at WCS. “For the first time in CITES history, a shark species ha...

Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 27 November 2025 – DNA-based inventory methods have enabled a new assessment of African Forest Elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) populations with improved accuracy. This is the first time the entire species has been assessed since they were recognized as a full species in 2021, separate from their cousins, African Savanna Elephants (Loxodonta africana). Released at the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in...