Our 12 favorite stories of the year inspired wonder, advanced science, and demonstrated tangible progress for wildlife and wild places around the world to the benefit of us all. 🌎 www.wcs.org/get-involved... #YearInReview

Pleased to be featured in a collection of diverse viewpoints on coral reef restoration in this issue of One Earth. Read the full collection here: authors.elsevier.com/a/1mIX8_wvRV...

🔔 🌎 Happy holidays from our WCS teams in New York City and around the world!

Recent successes show us that you can bring tigers back, says WCS’s Luke Hunter. “You can catalyze recovery. And we’re still in the early stages of it in most places, but we see it’s possible.” 🌏 news.mongabay.com/2025/12/hope...

Check out these Andean bears at the Queens Zoo. “As young bears, Coya and Ransisku are curious about everything in their environment,” said WCS’s Mike Allen, the zoo’s director. Video taken by a guest. 🌎

Great news: Today at #UNEA7, the Women Ocean Guardians initiative welcomed Seychelles and Australia as signatories of the commitment. This coincided with a side event on inclusive and transformative approaches to ocean governance. 🌍

New #open-access paper from our team @wcs.org Education. We talk about why cultural institutions are the ideal place to study informal learning and youth development, and how collaboration between internal research and practice teams sets us up for successful design-based research (DBR) practices.

“They’re hardy,” WCS’s Jake LaBelle tells @nytimes.com of American eels. But they need protection despite their resilience. 🌎 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/n...

Congress is finalizing the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act #NDAA. It has major implications for wildlife and wild places worldwide. 📢 🌎 Speak out and let them know strong international conservation programs strengthen national security: secure.wcs.org/campaign/251...

Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, a towering figure in wildlife conservation whose research, passion, and leadership helped shape global efforts to protect elephants, has died. Read our tribute: newsroom.wcs.org/News-Release...

Today is the 120th anniversary of the founding of the American Bison Society—a conservation milestone that began at WCS’s Bronx Zoo in 1905. With Theodore Roosevelt as honorary president, the ABS launched an ambitious effort to save the species. Today, our bison conservation efforts continue. 🦬 🌎

The #CITESCOP20 meeting in Uzbekistan has drawn to a close and we are grateful for a series of landmark decisions that will strengthen trade regulations for threatened species—including many heavily targeted by the global pet trade. Here are a few. 🌏

Science over extinction. At #CITESCOP20, we saw a series of landmark decisions that will strengthen trade regulations for threatened species—and a few that could jeopardize hard-won conservation gains. www.wcs.org/cites-cop20 🌏

The epic fight to save Amur tigers shows it’s “possible for people from different backgrounds to work together and achieve considerable success,” WCS’s @jonathanslaght.com tells @cnn.com. WCS’s role is detailed in his new book, Tigers Between Empires. 🌏 www.cnn.com/science/sibe...

DYK: Canada 🇨🇦 is home to 25% (!!) of the world's peatlands. These are climate-critical ecosystems because of how much carbon they store. Check out the new National Peatland Strategy released today from @wcscanada.org. ⬇️

Today is #WildlifeConservationDay and it comes as #CITESCoP20 is nearing a close in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. There, we have seen exciting gains for species in protections from international trade. Get the latest: wcs.org/cites 🌏

Great news from #CITESCOP20: Governments have agreed to ban commercial trade of Galápagos iguanas. “Ecuador is deeply committed to protecting the natural heritage of the Galápagos,“ said WCS’s Sebastián Valdivieso, “and this decision reinforces that commitment.” 🌎 newsroom.wcs.org/News-Release...

On #GivingTuesday, your gift will go 4X as far. Thank you for all you do for our planet. Give today: bit.ly/4pj9EgO

From @nytimes.com: Sharks and Rays Gain Sweeping Protections From Wildlife Trade These represent the first time there’s been recognition that some sharks and rays are wildlife, just like elephants or rhinos, WCS’s @lukedavid301.bsky.social tells the paper. 🌎 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/s...

Save the ❤️ of the wild. In honor of #GivingTuesday, make your impact go 4X as far to protect wildlife, including jaguars. bit.ly/4pj9EgO

Good news on okapi from #CITESCOP20: the Parties have elected to put it on Appendix I, the highest level of international protection, which will prohibit all international commercial trade in okapi or their parts as well as sub-products. bit.ly/4rxdDb6 🌍

Opening up a legal trade of saiga horn, as #CITESCOP20 parties did today, sends the exact wrong message at the worst possible time, says Khash-Erdene Bayarsaikhan of WCS Mongolia. bit.ly/4os6zto 🌏

Today at #CITESCoP20, governments voted to allow commercial international trade in saiga horn under newly established quotas from Kazakhstan. We strongly opposed this outcome. 🌏 newsroom.wcs.org/News-Release...

Sweeping trade protections adopted for sharks and rays at #CITESCOP20. “It’s taken 20 to 30 years to get recognition that sharks and rays — keystone predators in marine ecosystems globally — need that protection,” says WCS’s @lukedavid301.bsky.social. 🌏 www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solu...

Save the ❤️ of the wild. Make your #GivingTuesday donation today and your support will help defend wildlife from illegal trade, protect critical forest habitat, and empower communities to safeguard our shared future. Special 3X match: bit.ly/3KfXG8o

“This is one of the greatest days in the history of shark and ray conservation.” Historic trade protections were adopted at #CITESCOP20 today. The next step is strong implementation on the ground, says WCS’s @lukedavid301.bsky.social. 🌏

‼️ Historic and sweeping trade protections have been adopted at #CITESCOP20 for sharks and rays. It's the most comprehensive advance in global shark conservation in CITES history. It belongs to the Parties who championed these protections, says @lukedavid301.bsky.social. Read more: bit.ly/486puVJ

At #CITESCOP20, we are calling for Parties to reject Proposal 3, which would lift the zero-export quota and allow international commercial trade in saiga horns. The saiga has just recovered and that progress is fragile, Khash-Erdene Bayarsaikhan of WCS Mongolia.

At #CITESCOP20, we’re supporting Ecuador’s proposals to transfer Galápagos land and marine iguanas from Appendix II to Appendix I, the highest level of protection under CITES. These species are facing increasing pressures. Strong international safeguards are essential to their survival.

We are disappointed Parties at #CITESCOP20 failed to support Proposal 35, which would have listed all anguillid eels (including the American eel) on CITES Appendix II. Leaves an iconic migratory fish without the international oversight urgently needed. Read more: newsroom.wcs.org/News-Release...

Historic victory for sharks: #CITESCoP20 Parties voted to list oceanic whitetip sharks on Appendix I, the highest level of protection offered by CITES. “Today’s decision is a watershed moment for all sharks and rays,” said WCS’s Luke Warwick. 🌏 Read more: bit.ly/4olha9w

NEWS: Latest assessment of Critically Endangered forest elephants sheds new light on their numbers and provides optimism for their future. However, we must not be complacent. 🌍 Read more: bit.ly/49CNL73

At #CITESCOP20, the Bronx Zoo’s Kevin Torregrosa presented on the critical role zoos play in responding to illegal wildlife trade. Zoo expertise in animal care, veterinary triage, quarantine, and species-specific husbandry makes institutions like ours indispensable first responders. 🌏

Grateful to Panama, Brazil, and Benin. At #COP20 today, these countries brought together a group of government leaders, scientists, and CITES implementation experts to spotlight this year’s shark and ray proposals. Creating momentum for these species. 🌏

A pleasure meeting with Dr. Susan Lieberman, Vice-President of @wcs.org, on the sidelines of #CITESCoP20. We discussed ways to accelerate the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework #KMGBF, including by leveraging synergies and the full participation of Civil Society.

100 years ago, WCS scientist Marie Fish (left) confirmed for the first time that American eels begin their lives in the Sargasso Sea. At #CITESCOP20, writes WCS’s Jake LaBelle, it’s up to all of us to ensure their journey continues. 🌎 www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/...

Some might think them scaly, slimy, or just plain strange, but more maligned species still play a critical role in ecosystems. At #CITESCOP20, we must spare a thought for these less charismatic animals, says WCS's Susan Lieberman. 🌎 www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/...

This #Thanksgiving season, we want to thank everyone who has made a difference for nature this year. With your help, we’ve won critical protections for wildlife and wild places to benefit us all. 🌎 Check out our new 2025 #WCSImpact Report: www.wcs.org/about-us/imp...

“We need to give species a fighting chance.” WCS’s Susan Lieberman delivered an urgent call-to-action yesterday evening during the High-Level Dialogue on the eve of the opening of #CITESCOP20. 🌏 Read her remarks: bit.ly/3K3HYgv

At #CITESCOP20, governments face last chance to save whale sharks, manta rays, and more. “The science is unequivocal, and the tools and support to implement CITES already exist for governments once listings pass,” says WCS's @lukedavid301.bsky.social. 🌏 bit.ly/3M1qTnS

Coral reefs are largely missing from country reporting to international biodiversity and climate agreements—a lost chance for targeted action to promote resilience. @wcs.org / @worldwildlife.org op-ed on why it matters and how collective action can protect them: for-the-ocean.org/now-or-never... 🌏

New @wcs.org science shows why many coral reef fishers remain in poverty, even as fish stocks decline and some fishers leave the profession. 🌏 bit.ly/3XcVTnl

Governments have a critical opportunity at the upcoming #CITESCOP20 to choose the future we want for wildlife. We cannot allow short-term commercial interests to reverse conservation successes or threaten recovering species such as the saiga. 🌏 More: bit.ly/3KbKYHD

For sharks on the brink of extinction, CITES Appendix II isn’t protective enough, writes @whysharksmatter.bsky.social. Starting next week, we will be at #CITESCoP20 advocating for greater protections for some of the ocean's most iconic species. 🌏 news.mongabay.com/2025/11/for-...

They’ve survived volcanic eruptions, droughts, and isolation over millennia, but they are now up against threats they can’t withstand alone. At #CITESCOP20, we are supporting stronger international trade protections for Galápagos land and marine iguanas. 🌏 Read more: bit.ly/482Bfv6

🚽 Today is #WorldToiletDay. Let’s talk water pollution. “Water quality isn’t just a #coralreef issue,” says WCS’s Dr. Alec Hughes. “It’s about human health, too.” In the Solomon Islands, we are partnering with communities to take action from ridge to reef: bit.ly/49sDPgr 🌏

In today’s world, we see habitats decreasing and the exploitation of wildlife increasing. Our priority at the upcoming #CITESCOP20, says WCS's Susan Lieberman, is to encourage strong, science-based decisions that support the conservation of species in the wild. wcs.org/cites 🌏

From Central Park to Central America, migratory birds connect us. Illegal cattle ranching is wiping out the Five Great Forests they depend on. A new @cornellbirds.bsky.social / @wcs.org study shows which species are most at risk and spotlights the communities helping them. bit.ly/43EFADz 🌎

We can’t let the saiga’s remarkable recovery be undone by the horn trade. That’s why we oppose Proposal 3 at #CITESCOP20 to lift the zero-export quota for wild saiga from Kazakhstan and allow international commercial trade in saiga horns. bit.ly/4pC2Ri3 🌏

There are many species still around today because of CITES controls preventing or regulating uncontrolled international trade, says WCS’s Dr. Susan Lieberman. At #CITESCOP20 next week, we will be supporting a new suite of protections. wcs.org/cites-cop20 🌏