Honolulu, HI (Sept. 10, 2016) - WCS President and CEO Cristian Samper today celebrated the passage of IUCN Motion 007 at the World Conservation Congress. “Today’s vote calling for closure of domestic elephant ivory markets across the globe is vital--as the news about Africa’s elephants is as bad as bad news gets."

May 12, 2016—Scientists working for the Wildlife Conservation Society, the University of Stirling, and the Amboseli Trust for Elephants say that the high levels of poaching forest elephants will result in a loss of the oldest, wisest matriarchs, who are living libraries of their vast rainforest domain. Without these mothers, forest elephant social lives and their understanding of their ecosystem will be lost. This exacerbates the ongoing loss of ecosystem function already underway by the loss of these most effective seed dispersers and forest gardeners.

March 7, 2016—Warthogs living in Uganda have learned to rid themselves of annoying ticks by seeking out the grooming services of some accommodating neighbors: a group of mongooses looking for snacks. 

BRUSSELS (26 November, 2015) – Conservation and animal welfare groups are welcoming the European Commission’s announcement of a new report that will inform the EU’s strategy to save Africa’s unique wildlife and ecosystems. 

New York – Sept. 16, 2015 – The United Nations System, including the CITES Secretariat, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the World Bank, in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Member States, and civil society partners, will host an evening reception and high-level remarks on wildlife and forest crime at WCS’s Central Park Zoo on Sunday, Sept. 27. 

WCS and the 96 Elephants campaign praise the California Senate for passing AB 96, state legislation that would ban the sale of ivory and rhinoceros horn in the state of California.

August 26, 2015 – The Following statement is from Cristián Samper, WCS President and CEO and a member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking:

 August 21, 2015 - WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) congratulates WCS scientists Joel Berger, P. Dee Boersma, and Tim Davenport for being nominated for the 2016 Indianapolis Prize— the world's leading award for animal conservation.

 

New York - July 30, 2015 - The United Nations General Assembly today passed a sweeping resolution that targets the global problem of wildlife trafficking, calling on all 193 UN member states (governments of the world) to take on a series of actions to “prevent, combat, and eradicate the illegal trade in wildlife.”

New York - July 25, 2015  –The following statement was released today by WCS President and CEO Cristián Samper, who also serves on the U.S. Federal Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking. Samper’s statement concerns remarks by President Obama delivered in Kenya on ivory.