science

Wildlife Conservation Society

Wildlife Conservation Society is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wildlife Conservation Society rather than just read about it. In short: The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a global 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization, headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, with a mission to save "wildlife and wild places across the globe". Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoölogical Society (NYZS), the global conservation organization is, as of July 1, 2025, led by President and CEO Adam Falk.

Key takeaways

Wildlife Conservation Society belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wildlife Conservation Society to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wildlife Conservation Society from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a global 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization, headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, with a mission to save "wildlife and wild places across the globe". Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoölogical Society (NYZS), the global conservation organization is, as of July 1, 2025, led by President and CEO Adam Falk. WCS manages four New York City wildlife parks in addition to the Bronx Zoo: the Central Park Zoo, New York Aquarium, Prospect Park Zoo, and Queens Zoo. Together, these parks receive 4 million visitors per year. All these facilities are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). WCS has a global program doing conservation work on the ground in more than 50 countries.

History

Founding

The Wildlife Conservation Society was originally chartered by the government of the State of New York, on April 26, 1895. Then known as the New York Zoölogical Society, the organization embraced a mandate to advance native wildlife conservation, promote the study of zoology, and create a first-class zoological park that would be free to the public; its name was changed to the Wildlife Conservation Society in 1993. Andrew H. Green was the first president of the society but was replaced by Levi P Morton after Green resigned due to declining health. Henry Fairfield Osborn, who was the curator of the American Museum of Natural History and the founder of the American Eugenics Society, was Morton's successor. Madison Grant, popular eugenicist and author of The Passing of The Great Race, acted as the society's secretary and the chairman of the executive committee. William Temple Hornaday operated as the founding Director and General Curator of the park itself. Together, these leaders wrote hundreds of works promoting preservationist values. According to environmental historian Miles A. Powell, their writings and arguments were foundational for conservation but partially motivated by racial discrimination, hyper masculinity, and an association between protecting the nation's wildlife and protecting the nation's white population. Other notable figures involved in the Society's creation include George Bird Grinnell, founder of the Audubon Society and editor of Forest and Stream magazine, and members of the Boone and Crockett Club. The Bronx Zoo (formerly the New York Zoological Park) was designed along the lines of other cultural institutions in New York City, such as the American Museum of Natural History. The city provided the land for the new zoo and some funding for buildings and annual operating costs. WCS raised most of the funds for construction and operations from private donors, and selected the scientific and administrative personnel. Hornaday's tenure was very significant for conservation, but he encountered controversy after the exhibiting Ota Benga, a Mbuti (Congo pygmy) man.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wildlife Conservation Society

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wildlife Conservation Society claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wildlife Conservation Society before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wildlife Conservation Society ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wildlife Conservation Society

In research: Wildlife Conservation Society appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wildlife Conservation Society in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wildlife Conservation Society is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1895 establishments in New York (state), Animal conservation organizations, Environmental organizations based in New York City, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wildlife Conservation Society outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wildlife Conservation Society in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wildlife Conservation Society means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wildlife Conservation Society out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wildlife Conservation Society in simple terms?

Why does Wildlife Conservation Society matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wildlife Conservation Society?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wildlife Conservation Society.