Video:Profile of the Wildlife Conservation Society

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Transcript:Profile of the Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society or WCS supports zoos and aquariums while promoting environmental education and conservation of wild populations and their habitats. They also offer educational resources and a wide variety of conservation programs.

Goals and Efforts of the Wildlife Conservation Society

Their efforts are focused on a select group of animals including bears, big cats, elephants, great apes, hoofed mammals, cetaceans, and carnivores. Their conservation projects stretch around the globe and are at work in regions including Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, and throughout the world's oceans.

The World Conservation Society has identified a set of core issues that threaten our planet's biodiversity and ecological well-being—these include climate change, misuse of natural resources, and sustainable development.

History of the Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society was established in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society in Bronx. Its mission was, and is, to promote wildlife protection, foster the study of zoology, and create a top-notch zoo. Today five Wildlife Conservation Zoos exist in the State of New York: the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and the New York Aquarium.

In addition to working with zoos, the Wildlife Conservation Society has long fought to save wildlife and unique habitats around the world. Their first initiative during the 1900s was to protect the American bison and foster its recovery throughout the Western Plains.

Projects of the Wildlife Conservation Society

For more than a century, the Wildlife Conservation Society has worked to protect many other iconic species around the globe. They have worked to save gorillas in the Congo, tigers in India, and wolverines in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Eighty-four percent of all expenses go towards conservation projects. Their website is WCS.org and you can also find them on Facebook.

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