Wildlife And Wild Places
Wildlife and Wild Places
Wildlife and wild places are worth fighting for. The WCS community is made up of wildlife champions like you, fighting to preserve a future for iconic animals and irreplaceable habitats. WCS works to discover and understand the natural world, and to inspire communities to protect endangered species.
WCS Run for the Wild
This year, WCS Run for the Wild is inspired by red pandas. Red panda cubs are born with a very soft, plush light brown coat that eventually becomes more coarse. They reach adulthood at around 18 months, by which time they sport reddish-brown and black coats. This bear-like fur, and their bushy tails, keep red pandas warm in colder climates.They have an adaptation on their wrists that acts much like a thumb and enables them to grasp food items like bamboo as well as tree branches.
Red pandas are listed as “Vulnerable” by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to habitat loss caused by deforestation for timber, fuel, and agricultural use. Their population is declining. WCS works in China and Myanmar to save red pandas and other Asian wildlife. We have been supporting conservation efforts in regions where red pandas live since 1910, working with local partners to create and secure protected areas and combat the illegal wildlife trade.
WCS has a successful history breeding red pandas at the Bronx, Central Park, and Prospect Park Zoos as part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a cooperative breeding program administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums designed to enhance the genetic viability and demographic stability of animal populations in accredited zoos.
SSPs are programs that manage species for gene diversity and demographic (population) stability, which are requisites to have healthy populations in our zoos. There are about 500 SSP programs administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and nearly all are for species that are classified as threatened or endangered. The Bronx Zoo actively participates in almost half of these programs.
The subspecies of red panda at the Bronx Zoo are western red pandas, native to the western part of the Himalayas. You can visit them in Himalayan Highlands year-round and, seasonally, on Wild Asia Monorail.
Animals around the world are going extinct 10,000 times faster than ever before. Your support will give them a fighting chance.