Annual report of the Wildlife Conservation Society

2005·9.4 MB·English

by  Wildlife Conservation Society

ON ALL FRONTS
The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife
and wild lands. We do so through careful science,
international conservation, education, and the
management of the world's largest system of urban
wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo.
Together, these activities change individual attitudes
toward nature and help people imagine wildlife and
humans living in sustainable interaction on both
WCS
a local and a global scale. is committed to
this work because we believe it essential to
the integrity of life on Earth.

10 Living Institutions Chairman's Letter 4
The Wildlife Conservation Society sets the
standard for zoos and aquariums with its President's Letter
one-of-a-kind urban complex ofLiving
— Trustees and Advisors
Institutions in New York City the world-
famous Bronx-Zoo; Central Park, Prospect
Wildlife Conservation Projects 46
Park, and Queens Zoos; and the New York
—
Aquarium as well as the largest and most
Public Affairs
comprehensive Wildlife Health Sciences
department in the world. Financial Report
26 Living Classrooms
WCS
Events
The WCS Education Division's award-
winning programs and curricula reach
Contributors
youngsters, teachers, and parents from New
York to India. Committees
36 Living Landscapes WCS
Staff
WCS
field researchers pursue science-based
solutions to benefitwildlife and wild places WCS Publications
and work to help others fulfill our keenly
human role as stewards ofthe planet. Facts, Awards, Credits
Cover: The American bison symbolizes the Wildlife Conservation Society's commitment to save spectacular
wildlife and wild lands and to engage the people around the world in its mission. Inside front cover and page
1: Born in 2003, Biscuit is the ninety-third snow leopard cub born at the Bronx Zoo. Left: An adult chinstrap
penguin bonds with its chick at the Central Park Zoo.
's letter DAVID T. SCHIFF, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Our first annual report appeared in 1897 Local, national, and international governments
—
and there was much to tell. Two years
WCS
earlier, the Wildlife Conservation Society and groups look to for leadership and
(WCS) was officially incorporated, after
New York City leaders and lovers ofwild- expertise in the struggle to protect species and
life articulated a bold vision: New York We
would become a globalcenterforthe study preserve resources. are the "go-to" people
ajunsdt acofnesweryveaatriso,nWoCfSnatcurreea'tsedwotnhdeewrosr.ldI-n for planet Earth and the life it supports.
famous Bronx Zoo, established the first
—
zoo education program, hired the first zoo veterinarian, Madagascar! an exhibit experience that will introduce
and dispatched the first field scientist to study in Alaska. visitors to lemurs and other wildlife ofthis fascinating is-
The architects ofWCS might be astonished bythe realiza- land,andtoourlong-termconservationwork there.
tion oftheir vision. Today, more than 1,200 WCS staff in Our veterinary staff is leading the efforts to better un-
New York and another 3,000 around the world arework- derstand and control diseases that pass between animals
ingtosavethe "lastofthewild." and humans, such as Ebola, SARS, and avian influenza. In
—
Thisyear despitegreatenvironmentaldamagebynat- the face ofpotential pandemics, we are calling for a "One
ural forces such as hurricanes and tsunamis, wild habitats World, One Health" approach tozoonoticdiseases.
overtaken by human development, global climate chang- Thetalented individualsatWCSaccomplish real results
—
es, and introduced exotic species much positive news by embracing a huge, multifaceted, and well-coordinated
has resulted from our efforts. WCS field scientists discov- effort. This year, Corneille Ewango received the Goldman
—
ered three new primate species in Bolivia, Tanzania, and Environmental Award for risking his life to help protect
—
India as well as a new rodent family in Laos. A census the Okapi Reserve in DR Congo. Michel Masozera won
ol drauer's gorillas in war-torn DR Congo found that the the National Geographic Society/Buffett Award for Lead-
population is at least stable, and may be growing. In Rus- ership in African Conservation. Alan Rabinowitz received
sia's Far East, a tiger survey revealed stable numbers, par- the first George B. Rabb Conservation Award for his work
ticularly good news in the face of reports that these big toprotectbigcats in Asia and South America.
catsaredisappearingin someofIndia'stigerreserves. In our work, success does not mean the challenges dis-
At the Bronx Zoo, we opened the new Butterfly Gar- appear; they merely change with time and place. Our his-
—
den and Bug Carousel our one-of-a-kind tribute to the tory and long-term commitment ensure that WCS will
littlecreaturesthat help make the world go 'round. Mean- continue to make meaningful connections between all
while, we are transformingthe landmark Lion House into species andalllifeon planet Earth.
4 WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY
Partners, Friends, and Supporters
BEST FRIENDS
The Wildlife Conservation Society is enormously grateful WCS is also tremendously grateful forthe dedication and
to-the Goldman Sachs Charitable Fund for its extraordi- generosity ofthese friends who have each made contribu-
nary gift ofmore than 680,000 acres of land on the Chil- tionstotalingone million dollarsormorethis year:
ean portion of the island of Tierra del Fuego and for its
contribution of critical operating and endowment sup- Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, for its support as
port to complement this remarkable donation. We are principal underwriter of our Animal Enrichment
honored to be working with such an enlightened partner Program.
in theefforttoensuretheconservationofthis magnificent The Irwin Family, for exceptional support that will
wilderness. Weofferspecial thanks to Henry M. Paulson, help us meet a broad array of challenges as we look
Jr. and the people of Goldman Sachs who have devoted aheadtothe future.
theirtime, energy, and talentto this project. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Founda-
tion, for its long-standing support of our landscape
We are deeply indebted to Robert W. Wilson for match- conservation effortsaroundtheworld.
ing grant funds that this year totaled more than $21 mil- The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, for its sig-
lion in supportofourglobalconservation programs. The nificant commitment to ourwork in large landscapes
incentive provided by this challenge match continues to and seascapes intheAmazon, Gabon, and Fiji.
inspireandattractvital newsupportforourworkaround Katherine T. Ruttenberg, for celebrating the memory
theworld. of her father by helping to protect our wildlife her-
itage for future generations, through the establish-
We extend special appreciation to five dedicated mem- ment of The Derald H. Ruttenberg Memorial Fund
W
bers oftheWCS family: DavidT Schiff, Ward Woods, forConservation.
Edith McBean, J. Michael Cline, and Andrew H. Tisch. Barbara and Donald Zucker, for their tremendous
Each has made a truly outstanding commitment this support of our Living Institutions through their gift
year thatwill help ensure the success ofWCS's ambitious tothenewBugCarousel atthe BronxZoo.
plans for the future. Their great interest in, and steadfast
support of, our mission is inspiring to all ofus who have This year, we welcome Mr. and Mrs. Bradley L. Goldberg
thegood fortunetowork withthem. and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Unterberg to our circle of Best
—
Friends those whose cumulative philanthropy to WCS
We offer heartfelt thanks to The Starr Foundation for exceedsone million dollars.
providing a leadership grant that
lays the groundwork for the creation
of the Science Campus at the Bronx
Zoo, where we will bring together
our broad-based policy and program
initiatives in a new Center for Global
Conservation and the finest Wildlife
Health Centerin the world.
WCS
field scientists helped to
discover and name three new
primate species. One ofthese is
the highland mangabey, Lophocebus
kipunji (right). Tim Davenport, Noah
Mpunga, Sophy Machaga, and the
team estimate that 500 to 1,000
ofthe mangabeys live in Tanzania's
Southern Highlands, where WCS
has been workingfor several years
to survey the wild animals and
plants, document the importance of
the forest to water catchment, and
help the local people implement
sound conservation strategies.
ANNUAL REPORT 2005 5
t's letter STEVEN E. SANDERSON, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
In 1905, the Wildlife Conservation Society Yellowstone and the American bison
began a great conservation quest by join-
ing President Theodore Roosevelt in the were gateways to conservation in the
creationoftheAmerican Bison Society and
restoring bison to the Western range with nineteenth century. Today, they symbolize
animals from the Bronx Zoo herd. These
actions also firmly established the link be- WCS's commitment to wildlife and to
tween our Living Institutions in New York
protected areas worldwide.
and the future ofspecies in the wild, a pur-
pose from which we have never wavered.
Beginning with the American bison and its prairie lands, Native American communities, prairie conservation ad-
WCS has focused on saving spectacularwildlife and land- vocates, national park managers, and conservationists all
—
scapes among them, great apes and tropical forests, over North America. The bison delights anyone who sees
big cats and temperate woodlands, vulnerable bi—rds and it in the wild, mesmerizing the millions of visitors to Yel-
mountain perches, giantwhales and ocean depths to en- lowstone and otherparks.
—
sureconservationworldwide. Now, the American bison and the wildlife we protect
—
As globalization transforms the planet and threats to around the world need us to change the scale and shape
wildlife accelerate, WCS is making parallel organizational ofourwork. As we revive the American Bison Society, we
changes. The needs to educate and to satisfy the cultur- are shadowed by the continuing loss ofgrassland ecosys-
al appetites of our guests constantly challenge our teach- tems worldwide, the elimination of wildlife as a menace
ers and exhibit specialists. Animal well-being has become to domestic animals and crops, the threats of emerging
an expansive concept, thanks in large part to ourcurators infectious diseases, the urgent need to take conservation
and keepers. Global public health hascaptured ourveteri- outside the parks, and the realization that global climate
—
nary concerns, and inspired a vision thatconnects wildlife change will affect the nature of wildlife habitat includ-
—
health, animal husbandry, and human health. Global cli- ingthe bison's prairies duringourlifetimes.
mate change as a fact, not a public policy debate, contin- Yellowstone and the American bison were gateways to
uestoshapeourconservation strategies into the future. conservation in the nineteenth century. Today, they sym-
The American bison, Bison bison, graces the cover of bolize WCS's commitment to wildlife and to protected ar-
our Annual Report. This icon ofthe plains symbolizes the eas worldwide. Their power to inspire must be matched
—
American West. It carries the tortured history of natural by action this time including health, education, land-
grandeur and human wastefulness, and so reminds us of scapes, and a global strategy. The bison on our cover has
our stewardship of the environment. Its value persists for itsgaze fixed on theworld.
6 WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY
Partners, Friends, and Supporters
In addition to those named on page 5, we extend special The Overbrook Foundation has made generous contribu-
thanks to those donors who generously supported WCS tions toourLatin America programs.
and its mission.
SUPPORT ACROSS WCS Our Marine Program is grateful for significant support
from the Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation and the Oak
WCS deeply appreciates those donors who have provided
FoundationUSA.
significant unrestricted support, allowing us to allocate
TfuhnedsBawyhearnedtPhaeulneFeodunisdgarteiaotnesst,.tWheeWeExt.enFdlaohuerrttyhaFnakmsiltyo T&hePrRoidcuhcatridonKiCnogmMpealnlyo,n aFnoudndtahteioWni,lbSuhreflolrEcxeplFooruantdiao-n
Foundation, Enid A. Haupt, the Irwin Family, Katharina
Otto-Bernstein, The Howard Phipps Foundation, Josie tion provided critical funding for our conservation work
and Julian Robertson, The Starr Foundation, and Mr. inNorthAmerica.
and Mrs. Thomas Unterberg. In addition, WCS is grate-
ful for unrestricted support received from the estates of LIVING INSTITUTIONS
Elizabeth S. Livingston and Agnes Scholl. Our Living Institutions are grateful to a number of do-
nors who provided support for our zoos and aquarium in
We recognize those philanthropists who during the year multiple ways, recognizing the need to build state-of-the-
provided support for projects and programs both for our art exhibits, to maintain the health and enhance the well-
zoos and aquarium in New York and our global conser-
being of our living collections, and to educate the public
vation programs around the world. Our gratitude goes
about the importance of wildlife conservation. We of-
to Mr. and Mrs. Michael Cline, Mr. and Mrs. Brian
Heidtke, the ScJh.iff Family, and Allison and Leonard fer special thanks to Eric Goode, the Estate of Ana Lua-
J.
na Martinez, Susan andJack Rudin, Virginia and Warren
Stern.
Schwerin, Joan O.L. Tweedy, and Mr. and Mrs. Samuel
LIVING LANDSCAPES H. WolcottIII.
Our global conservation field programs, as well as our
cross-cutting program headquartered in New York, re- Our programs in Wildlife Health received vital support
ceived significantsupportfrom manygenerous donors. from the Estate of Guy Cary, Francis Goelet Foundation,
Caroline N. Sidnam, Dr. Judith P. Sulzberger, and Pamela
We extend special thanks to Nancy Abraham and Arnold M. Thye, forwork inourLivingInstitutions, as well as the
Moss, Mr. and Mrs. FrederickW. Beinecke andThe Pros-
work done internationally through our Field Veterinary
pectHill Foundation, Liz Claiborne/Art Ortenberg Foun-
— Program.
dation, Conservation International Critical Ecosystem
Partnership Fund, Earth Share, Mr. and Mrs. Gary C.
Fink, Flora FamilyFoundation, Daphne andThomas Ka- WCS deeply appreciates those donors who have provid-
plan and the Lillian Jean Kaplan Foundation, National ed support for our exhibits. The Bronx Zoo's Madagas-
Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Geographic Soci- car!exhibitreceivedimportantassistancefromTheBarker
ety, David & Lucile Packard Foundation, Estate of Fred- Welfare Foundation, The Bodman Foundation, and Cleve-
erick D. Petrie,WorldWildlife Fund, and oneanonymous land H. Dodge Foundation, Inc. The Heckscher Foun-
donor. dation for Children provided funding for the new Bug
Carousel at the Bronx Zoo. Mitsubishi International Cor-
Conservation efforts across Africa received vital addi- poration Foundation provided ongoing support for Mit-
tional support from Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey R. Anderson,
subishiRiverwalkattheBronxZoo.
The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, William B. Lloyd,
and Zoo Zurich.
Our Living Institutions' Animal Enrichment Program re-
Our Asia programs also benefited from the generosity ceivedvital fundingfromPeterR. andKatherineL. Dolan.
of Eleanor Briggs, C. Diane Christensen and Jean Pier-
ret, Conservation International—Global Conservation TheEdwardJohnNobleFoundationcontinued its support
Fund, Homeland Foundation, Inc./E. Lisk Wyckoff, Jr., oftheSt. CatherinesWildlife Survival Center.
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and ExxonMobil
Save The Tiger Fund, Trust for Mutual Understanding, WCS's Education Program benefited from the generosity
and21stCenturyTiger. oftheHoward HughesMedicalInstitute.
ANNUAL REPORT 2005 7
trustees and advisors
Board of Trustees Mrs.CharlesA.Dana,Jr. HowardPhipps,Jr. MartyMarkowitz
(as ofOctober 31, 2005) KatherineL.Dolan JulianH.Robertson,Jr. President,BoroughofBrooklyn
RobertEsnard AshleyR.Schift StevenE.Sanderson,
OFFICERS PresidentandCEO,
WilliamE.Flaherty DavidT.Schiff
DIatvoCCiwhhdaaarTiid.rrSPmmchaahinnippfoEtsfm,etJrhr.ietBuosard JMBoruhardnrlaeDyy.LGG.eolGloldl-mdMabanenrng WMMairlcsth.eaWrealCr.Hr.SeenSdtLge.wiinShccakhrwdetrin LMIrFsWE.ilTVdiRlniUcfSeenTCtEoAEnssSteorrvationSociety
WardW.Woods PaulA.Gould Mrs.LeonardN.Stern JohnElliottJr."'
ChairmanoftheExecutive JonathanD.Green DanielK.Thorne RobertG.Goelet
Committee JudithHamilton AndrewH.Tisch EnidA.Haupt*
EditVhicMecCBheaainrman JBorihannBJ..HHeesisdtke WMrasr.dTWh.oWmoaosd[.sUnterberg H*dOeNceOaRsAedRYTRUSTEES
MrsV.icCeorChdaoinrBm.aPnattee |ohnN.IrwinIII BarbaraHrbekZucker GeorgeF.BakerIII
Mrs.LeonardN.Stern RobertWoodJohnsonIV EX-OFFICIOTRUSTEES RoscoeC.BrownJr.
ViceChairman DavidR.Jones Hon.MichaelR.Bloomberg Mrs.EdgarM.Cullman
JohnN.IrwinIII AnitaL.Kccfe Mayor,CityofNewYork C.SimsFarr
Treasurer ElyssaKellerman WilliamC.Thompson.Jr. Dr.HenryC.FlickTJ
AndrewH.Tisch MichaelJ.Kowalski Comptroller,CityofNewYork WilliamGruenerwald
W.SBe.cMrectKareyown JEadimtehsMMc.Belaarnge,Jr. GifSfpoeradkeMri,llNerewYorkCityCouncil H|oohnn.RA.ntIlheoanrsyt,DJ.r.Marshall
DeputySecretary EugeneR.McGrath AdrCioamnmiBsesnieopneer,Department PeterMatthiessen
TRUSTEES FrederickA.Melhado ofParksC>Recreation, EbenW.Pyne
JaneAlexander AmbroseK.Monell CityofNewYork GuyG.Rutherfurd
FrederickW.Bcinecke Mrs.CieorgcK.Moss KateD.Levin Dr.JudithP.Sulzberger
F.leanorBriggs CarlA.Navarre,Jr. oCfomCmuilstusriaolneAfrf,aiDres,partment Mrs.RichardB.Tweedy
C.DianeChristcnsen KatharinaOtto-Bernstein CityofNewYork SueVandeBovenkamp
|.MichaelClinc Mrs.GordonB.Pattee AdolfoCarrion,Jr. RichardA.Voell
JonathanL.Cohen 11.MerrittPaulsonIII President.BoroughofTheBronx I .IiskWyckot'fjr.
8 WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY