Wildlife Conservation Network
Description
The Wildlife Conservation Network is a nonprofit organization that supports field conservationists protecting endangered wildlife around the world.
It was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. It identifies entrepreneurial conservationists and gives them capital, strategic capacity building, training and operational support. Its 100 percent model means every donation made to a specific species goes directly to the conservationists protecting it.
It partners with field based conservation projects across Africa, Asia, Latin America and elsewhere, covering species such as cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, lions, pangolins and snow leopards. It also runs species specific wildlife funds, including the Elephant Crisis Fund, Lion Recovery Fund, Pangolin Crisis Fund and Rhino Recovery Fund, that pool donor support across many organizations. It runs a scholarship and career program for conservationists from local communities, and hosts the Wildlife Conservation Expo to connect donors and conservationists.
It has also worked in North America through its California Wildlife Program, which connects habitat for fragmented wildlife populations.
Latest news
Rising Wildlife Leaders: Where We’ve Come From, and Where We’re Headed
This year, WCN’s Rising Wildlife Leaders program celebrates its 20th anniversary. On the occasion of that anniversary, we are looking at how far we’ve come, where we are today, and where the program is headed next. Our story starts in Kenya. It is the early 1990s, and we are in Oldonyiro—a small...
23 Sep 2026
New Partnership Paves the Way for Reintroducing Sea Otters to Oregon
Partners Announce News for Sea Otter Awareness Week, Beginning September 20 September 17, 2026—Over 100 years ago, sea otters disappeared from Oregon as a result of the fur trade. Now, a group of conservation organizations has launched research with the goal of eventually bringing sea otters...
17 Sep 2026
Guided Visualization: Sea Otter Resilience Recharge
Conservation is hard. Even the most optimistic among us can feel tired, discouraged or heartbroken by the challenges we face. As a wildlife conservationist confronting extinction every day, I’ve learned to meet my eco-grief – the sorrow I feel over past losses – and my eco-anxiety – the worry I...
15 Sep 2026
Angola’s First Living African Golden Cat, Caught on Camera
This summer we received exciting news from our Partners at the Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation (SWCCF)—after years of searching, a living African Golden Cat had finally been recorded in Angola. It’s an important breakthrough for a species that is still poorly understood, and will help...
4 Sep 2026
A Big Day for Painted Dogs—New Projects, and More Protections for a Beloved Pack
International Painted Dog Day is on August 26th, and this year WCN was delighted to celebrate it with Nicholas Dyer, Director of the Painted Dog Fund and CEO of the Painted Wolf Foundation. Nick joined us to host a Closer Look to talk about everything that the Fund is doing to protect this...
26 Aug 2026
Standing with Communities on the Front Lines of Macaw Conservation
Earlier this week we received word from Costa Rica of a crisis facing local communities. Our Partners at the Macaw Recovery Network (MRN), who do incredible work to protect and restore the critically endangered great green macaw, are now facing a new challenge—heavy flooding. After weeks of...
20 Aug 2026
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