Wildlife Conservation Society

Another day of fieldwork in Mongolia’s rugged Gobi — where not all mountain residents are snow leopards 🐫

Last night, we hosted a bison event on Capitol Hill led by WCS’s Adam Falk and John Calvelli. We were joined by our American Bison Coalition partners, the Intertribal Buffalo Council and the National Bison Association.   It was a celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the American bison as the U.S.’s National Mammal—a designation that came about due to a national Wildlife Conservation Society-led campaign with bipartisan political support among conservationists, tribal leaders, ranchers, zoos, and civic organizations.   Over the years, the National Bison recognition has shown to be more than a symbolic naming. Today, it continues to serve as a platform for advancing efforts to return bison to larger landscapes where they can once again fulfill their vital ecological role.   The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, World Wildlife Fund, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, and North American Bison, LLC were also important contributors to the event.   Thank you to all of the attendees for helping us celebrate this unifying icon.

An exciting update for #EndangeredSpeciesDay. These are recent camera trap images of a Cross River gorilla in Nigeria. These animals are rarely seen as there are less than 300 of them left. In fact, they were once presumed extinct in the country. Today, they live in a highly inaccessible, mountainous region and shy away from humans due to years of persecution. There is hope. Our WCS Nigeria Program works with local conservationists and communities dedicated to the gorilla's conservation.

This week, the Republic of Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, conducted an official visit to WCS’s Bronx Zoo. He was accompanied by the Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in New York, Winanto Adi.   During the visit, the Indonesian delegation held discussions with WCS Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Robert Menzi, and senior WCS leadership. Both parties reaffirmed their long-standing partnership and signed a Joint Statement to strengthen collaboration on biodiversity conservation and national park management across Indonesia.   The delegation also toured the zoo and met with zoo executives and keepers to talk about how scientific research, public education, and community engagement can help advance conservation.   Read more: https://lnkd.in/ews-vpxQ

Recently in Ecuador, the Wildlife Conservation Society helped establish two strategic conservation corridors that consolidate the Llanganates–Yasuní priority stronghold. The Yasuní Corridor is a critical wildlife highway connecting snow-capped peaks in the tropical Andes and humid rainforests in the Amazon Basin. It complements the Cuyabeno–Yasuní Corridor, which had been announced earlier last year. Now, vital migration routes for spectacled bears, mountain tapirs, jaguars and their prey, and hundreds of bird species have been secured. It’s one of many recent wins highlighted in our new spring impact report. As much as we talk about challenges, it’s also vital that we mark the progress we are making to save the wildlife and wild places all of us rely on. We couldn’t do it without the support of our funders and partners. Thank you. I encourage you to check out the report: https://lnkd.in/eUfapFH2

WCS President and CEO Adam Falk will join The Kavli Foundation Board of Directors in 2027.

A network of Indigenous communities in Congo’s Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park believes that conserving their pristine environment is a safer bet than resource extraction for long-term prosperity, writes The Telegraph. “These ecosystems create the second lung of the world,” researcher Aristide MOUELE tells the paper. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gazvDhDd

Deep in Mesoamerica’s largest rainforest stands a bare concrete house with a sweeping view and dark history. It was built two decades ago by a powerful narco-rancher and it once controlled a cattle pasture twice the size of Central Park, illegally carved from Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve. Today, on #migratorybirdday #globalbigday, birders from the Wildlife Conservation Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and other Guatemalan birders are gathering near this former narco house to count bird species. We are celebrating migration, but also something larger: what becomes possible when forests recover and communities thrive. Read more from WCS's Jeremy Radachowsky and Anna Lello-Smith: https://lnkd.in/eNvuzp-3

Bison are iconic. Symbols of unity, resilience, and a commitment to healthy landscapes and communities.   Today marks 10 years since the American bison was designated as the U.S.’s National Mammal. We were proud to lead a coalition of 60 organizations to achieve this.   WCS’s history of bison conservation goes back much further. In 1905, the American Bison Society (ABS) formed at our Bronx Zoo to begin efforts to reverse their impending extinction. Zoo Director William T. Hornaday served as the first president and Theodore Roosevelt was named honorary president.   Two later, the ABS shipped 15 bison from the zoo to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve in Oklahoma. It was the first animal reintroduction in North America.    All told, these efforts, alongside countless partners, helped reverse the bison’s decline. Today, the National Mammal stands as an example of conservation success.

Artificial water holes in Guatemala’s Laguna del Tigre National Park. As the climate heats up across Mesoamerica, these have been strategically installed in the park to help.