Wildlife Conservation Society

Description

The Wildlife Conservation Society, known as WCS, is a global organisation that saves wildlife and wild places through science, conservation action and education.

It runs four zoos and an aquarium in New York City, including the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo and the New York Aquarium, drawing millions of visitors each year. Alongside these, it operates what it describes as the world’s largest and longest-running field conservation program, partnering with Indigenous peoples, local communities, governments and other NGOs. It works in nearly fifty countries on projects ranging from gorilla conservation in Africa to tiger conservation in Asia and macaw conservation in South America. It has helped create more than 430 protected areas since its founding.

WCS combines habitat protection with sustainable resource management and has backed digital conservation projects mapping historical ecosystems and human impact on wild areas. It has also worked in conflict-affected areas such as Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar, where agreements on wildlife resources have supported peace and stability.

WCS was founded in 1895 in New York as the New York Zoological Society, adopting its current name in 1993. It is headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City.