Discover, Protect, Inspire
For more than 100 years, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been committed to saving wildlife and wild places around the world. Founded in 1895, this global conservation organization has an unwavering commitment to protect the last of the wild. More than a century later, WCS is the preeminent science-based wildlife conservation organization in the world. Field projects impact more than 60 countries and all of the world’s oceans. WCS’s focus is on protection of large, intact landscapes and seascapes where, in the face of global change, there is the greatest chance of conserving species and ecosystems. Protected area management is a core strategy—since its inception, WCS has assisted governments and communities to create, expand, or propose 245 parks from Kruger, South Africa in 1920 to Wakhan, Afghanistan in 2014. WCS staff’s veterinary and epidemiological expertise spans 35 countries and is focused on zoonotic diseases such as SARS, Ebola, and West Nile virus.
WCS is headquartered in New York City, where conservation work is achieved a network of four zoos and an aquarium. These urban wildlife parks connect four million visitors annually to nature, inspiring them to become advocates for wildlife and biodiversity conservation.
The New York zoos and aquarium allow visitors to see imperiled species firsthand and gain a greater understanding of conservation efforts at home and around the world.
WCS’s mission is to save wildlife and wild places through science, conservation, action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on earth. To save wildlife and wild places, the organization focuses on four global issues: climate change; natural resources extraction; the relationship between wildlife and human health; and the connection between sustainable development and local livelihoods. By 2020, WCS’s goal is to conserve more than 50 percent of the world’s biological diversity.
WCS has partnered with the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation to leave a legacy of conservation for future generations.