96 Elephants campaign helps achieve ivory bans in New York and New Jersey and expand social media impact in China96 Elephants sparks 672,500 emails to officials in support of elephantsCGI launches The Elephant Action Network to increase conservation partners and monitor successes NEW YORK (Sept. 23, 2014)—The Wildlife Conservation Society reported today at the Clinton Global Initiative’s Annual Meeting a number of encouraging gains achieved over the past year in the fight to save Africa’s eleph...

Fecal screening detects Ebola antibodies in wild great apes, suggests some apes survive exposureTo see VIDEO, CLICK HERE. NEW YORK (September 18, 2014) – A group of international scientists have developed a new method to study Ebola virus in wildlife. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)-led research, published today in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, describes the use of fecal samples from wild great apes to identify populations likely to have been exposed to the virus. This re...

Orlando, Florida, Sept. 15, 2014 – The following statement was issued today by Wildlife Conservation Society President and CEO Cristián Samper from the 2014 AZA Annual Conference: “We applaud the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), in partnership with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), for launching a global design challenge on how to use the ivory from the U.S. ivory crush. “The six-ton U.S. ivory crush in November sparked ivory destruction events by nations across the glo...

On a recent trip to Mozambique’s Niassa National Reserve, WCS Presdient and CEO Cristián Samper and Alastair Nelson, WCS Mozambique Country Director, traveled by helicopter to bear witness to an elephant that had been killed just hours earlier. Unfortunately this is not unusual for the area, but the Mozambique government and WCS are integrating resources and staff to protect Niassa's elephants.

Group Suspected of Killing 39 Elephants This Year Alone Early Morning Raid Results in Capture of Poaching Ring and Confiscation of Ivory and Guns Wildlife Conservation Society Praises Joint Operation Marrupa, Mozambique, Sept. 8, 2014 – A significant arrest of six suspected poachers took place here on Sept. 7 in a joint operation conducted by the Mecula District police, Luwire scouts and Niassa National Reserve WCS scouts. The arrests resulted after a 10-month investigation informed by vi...

Through his conservation work, Steve Zack, WCS Coordinator of Bird Conservation, has learned quite a bit about the Southern Ocean and the seabirds that call it home. Since he began his work in 1990, these species and the environment they live in have come under significant threats.

New York (August 19, 2014) – The following statement was issued by John Calvelli, WCS Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Director of the 96 Elephants Campaign: “Today’s landmark study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, authored by 96 Elephants partner Save the Elephants and other groups, confirms the widespread slaughter of elephants throughout Africa driven by ivory poaching. These tragic numbers underscore the urgency of banning the ivory trade. Recent WCS res...

New Pronghorn Management Guides share latest science, inform issues impacting species BOZEMAN (August 13, 2014) – Biologists from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada have collaborated for the first time to produce recommendations to protect and manage North America’s fastest land mammal – the pronghorn. Pronghorn are endemic to North America and numbered an estimated 35 million in the early 19th century. Today, about 700,000 remain and more than half of those live in Wyoming. The guides provide the l...

WCS president and CEO Cristián Samper commends New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for signing a historic law banning the purchase and sale of elephant ivory and rhino horn.

New Law Elevates Penalties on Criminals Profiting From Killing of Elephants and Rhinos NEW YORK (August 12, 2014) – The Wildlife Conservation Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Humane Society of the United States, and The Nature Conservancy applaud New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo for signing a state ban on the sale and purchase of elephant ivory and rhino horn today on World Elephant Day. Governor Cuomo signed into law a two-house bill formulated to address New York State’s statu...