Africa’s elephants have just gotten a powerful new supporter –music legend, Billy Joel.

Two primatologists working in the forests of the Republic of Congo have returned from the field with a noteworthy prize: the first-ever photograph of the Bouvier’s red colobus monkey, a rare primate not seen for more than half a century and suspected to be extinct by some, according to WCS (the Wildlife Conservation Society).

Bronx, NY – April 15, 2015 – Two infant western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are making their public debut at WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) Bronx Zoo. This is the second pair of gorillas born at the Bronx Zoo in just over a year.

The State Prosecutor of North Sumatra and WCS’s Wildlife Crimes Unit announced the arrest of a suspect for trafficking a living orangutan in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The trafficker allegedly sold wildlife through Facebook and by BlackBerry Messenger. The arrest was made on April 13, 2015.

Bronx, NY - April 10, 2015 - NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP today joined Bronx River Administrator and Bronx River Alliance Executive Director Linda R. Cox, FAICP, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., Congressman José E. Serrano, NY State Senator Gustavo Rivera Representative Miquel Rondon, Community Board 6 District Manager Ivine Galarza, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Bronx River Partnership Coordinator James Turek and Wildlife Conservation Society Executive Vice President for Public Affairs John F. Calvelli to officially cut the ribbon on the new River Park Fish Passage, located on the Bronx River at Boston Road and East 180th Street in The Bronx.

 WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) announced today that 60 captive-raised Myanmar roofed turtles—a species once thought extinct—have been released into their native habitat in Myanmar. More than 350 villagers, government representatives, and religious leaders attended ceremonies for the release.

Fish are the key ingredients in a new recipe to diagnose and restore degraded coral reef ecosystems, according to scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, WCS, James Cook University, and other organizations in a new study in the journal Nature.

New York – April 8, 2015 – WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) is celebrating the 120th anniversary of its founding and has launched a city-wide social media photo safari at www.NYisWild.com to mark the occasion. From now through Sept.7, participants can register at www.NYisWild.com and embark on the city-wide adventure by tagging qualifying photos of the 120 ways NY is wild with the corresponding number and the hashtag #NYisWild. (Example: Saw a sea lion having lunch @BronxZoo. #NYisWild #1 of 120.)

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.

• Existing research limited by one-discipline approach
• Less than 5 percent of studies consider ecosystem processes
• Residential development covers one out of every four acres of land in the United States; predicted to more than double by 2100

 Globally, residential development is a leading driver of natural resource consumption, native species decline and fossil fuel emissions.