June 12, 2015 – The following text is excerpted from remarks delivered on June 11 by WCS President and CEO Cristián Samper and WCS Board Chair Ward W. Woods at the 2015 WCS Annual Gala, Turning Tides, at the Central Park Zoo.

The number of gorillas and chimpanzees in Central Africa continues to decline due to hunting, habitat loss, and disease, combined with a widespread lack of law enforcement and corruption in the judicial process, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF, and partners in a new conservation plan.

Researchers from Africa, North America and Europe have published a road map on how future evolutionary research and education efforts in Central African forests can guide conservation strategies and actions.

Study of dolphin group produces taxonomic clarity and a new member Distribution of Australian humpback dolphin coincides with the Wallace Line, a zoological barrier first proposed by the co-conceiver of evolution by natural selection New York (August 1, 2014)—Scientists examining a taxonomically confused group of marine mammals have officially named a species new to science: the Australian humpback dolphin, Sousa sahulensis, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society and Clymene Enterprises....

96 Elephants has launched a fictional appraisal on YouTube: http://youtu.be/kdfe6v6qOTUWCS says high-end ivory appraisals send wrong message 96 elephants are killed every day in Africa for their ivoryWCS’s 96 Elephants campaign URL: www.96elephants.orgNEW YORK (April 30, 2014) – The Wildlife Conservation Society’s 96 Elephants campaign is urging the popular PBS program “Antiques Roadshow” to stop its on-air appraisals of ivory. WCS says the appraisals are sending the wrong message to the public...

WCS Earth Day Moment of Zen: 96 Seconds of Baby Elephants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0vlyq3yH1g&feature=youtu.be Instagram Version of shows 9.6 seconds: http://instagram.com/p/nGF_YOmI3E/ Footage includes elephants playing in an orphanage in Kenya, protected from poacher’s guns 96 Elephants are killed every day in AfricaNEW YORK (Earth Day, April 22, 2013) —The Wildlife Conservation Society’s 96 elephants campaign today released exactly 96 seconds of video footage of playful baby elep...

Scouts join more than 140 organizations seeking global moratorium on ivory Scouts will launch a letter-writing campaign and volunteer at the upcoming WCS Run for the Wild on April 26 at the Bronx ZooCampaign URL: www.96elephants.org NEW YORK (April 14, 2014) – The Boy Scouts of America Greater New York Council has joined more than 140 other groups as partners of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s recently launched 96 Elephants Campaign – an effort focused on securing moratoria on all ivory sale...

Survey shows that more than 80 percent of New Yorkers favor a ban on ivory sales Support remains strong, even if a ban affects antiques dealers and private property owners 96 elephants are killed every day in Africa for their ivory WCS’s 96 Elephants campaign URL: www.96elephants.org NEW YORK (April 7, 2014) – A statewide independent survey shows that more than 80 percent of New York voters are in favor of a permanent state ban on the sale of ivory that is decimating Africa’s elephants, accordi...

WCS-led satellite tracking study charts humpback whale movements and identifies overlap with offshore ocean industries Half of monitored animals unexpectedly travel north of coastal Gabon, perhaps toward an unknown breeding ground for humpbacks NEW YORK (February 5, 2014)—Scientists with the Wildlife Conservation Society, Oregon State University, Stanford University, Columbia University, and the American Museum of Natural History have found that humpback whales swimming off the coast of western...

Prize Officials Encourage People to Take Action as More Species are at Risk of Extinction INDIANAPOLIS — Thirty-nine conservationists who have dedicated their lives to saving the Earth’s endangered species have been nominated to receive the biennial Indianapolis Prize, the world’s leading award for animal conservation. The winner of the Prize will receive an unrestricted $250,000 cash award and the Lilly Medal. Five other finalists will each receive $10,000. The nominees’ work spans the globe...