WCS Wild Audio Wildlife Conservation Society

When the Cat Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, met in San Diego in 2019 they were keen to identify fresh insights in jaguar conservation. Delayed due to COVID, the effort got back on track in 2023 and this winter its findings were published. It seemed like a good moment to check in with some of WCS’s leading jaguar conservationists to see how Latin America’s biggest cat is faring.  

Read the IUCN Cat Specialist Group jaguar status report HERE.

Reporting: Nat Moss
Guests: Esteban Payan, Rob Wallace, Mariana da Silva

This week for Endangered Species Day we revisit a report from a year ago by WCS Wild Audio’s Dan Rosen with WCS Vice President for Species Conservation Elizabeth Bennett. The scale of the current species extinction crisis is dangerous and unprecedented, according to experts. Dan talks to Liz about why it demands our attention and what we can all do to stop it.

Reporting: Dan Rosen
Guest: Elizabeth Bennett

WCS supports the government of Belize in the management of two marine reserves in Belize, protected by a dedicated team of local rangers and monitored by experienced local and international scientists.  

Beyond preserving marine ecosystems, their focus extends to supporting the livelihoods of fishing communities there. 

Ralna Kay Lamb Lewis, WCS Belize's Assistant Director, says it's about ensuring that communities—especially women who have often been underrepresented—have the tools to manage resources, ensuring their own incomes and quality of life.
 
Reporting: Hannah Kaplan
Guest: Ralna Kay Lamb Lewis

It’s been over 50 years since the first Earth Day in 1970. As we commemorate this year’s edition, says WCS’s John Calvelli, there is a great deal of concern about our future. But there is also reason for optimism. One example comes from the Miombo Woodlands in Southern Africa. 

Reporting: Dan Rosen
Guest: John Calvelli

April 22 is Earth Day, which could not be a more fitting occasion for conservationists, ministers, and development experts to gather in Bhutan hosted by the Royal Govt of Bhutan, under the Patronage of Her Majesty The Queen, Jetsun Pema Wangchuck. The goal: to develop a long-term plan for sustainable funding to protect tigers across their range.  

To understand the stakes and the opportunity, we turned to several representatives of the global Tiger Conservation Coalition, which includes: the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Fauna & Flora, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Natural State, Panthera, TRAFFIC, the United Nations Development Programme (UNPD), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF), and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).  

Reporting: Nat Moss  
Guests: Stuart Chapman (WWF), John Goodrich (Panthera), Joob Jornburom (WCS), Phurba Lhendup (IUCN), Maxim Vergeichik (UNDP)  

You can follow all the action in Bhutan on Monday, April 22 and Tuesday, April 23 at these streaming links (Bhutan time is GMT +6):  

YouTube
Day 1 (April 22): https://youtube.com/live/UWHhgF0JttA
Day 2 (April 23): https://youtube.com/live/_3dQIcaW6DU   

Facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/events/1069989520755200/   

The waters off New York City are some of the busiest in the world with both ships and marine life. In fact, new research co-authored by WCS shows that fin whales can be found in these waters all 12 months. And that has important conservation implications.

Reporting: Dan Rosen
Guests: Carissa King-Nolan, Dr. Melinda Rekdahl