The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a leader in medical and surgical animal care, as well as pathology diagnoses of zoo and aquarium species. WCS has played a groundbreaking leadership role in efforts to identify and address emerging disease threats to wildlife, domestic animals, and public health, and our collaborative programs contribute to the pursuit of discovering and mitigating the effects of pathogens before they strike. As the oldest zoo-based veterinary program in the world, our veterinarians are recognized for their excellence in zoological medicine, wildlife pathology, and conservation health efforts. 

Whether treating a tiny fish or an elephant, our veterinary clinicians and pathologists are experts in the disease and health problems of terrestrial and marine species, and are responsible for the health of more than 14,200 fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals of nearly 1,330 species in WCS's five collections in New York City - the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium, Central Park, Queens, and Prospect Park zoos. At the Bronx Zoo, WCS's Wildlife Health Center is a renowned research hospital which boasts the latest medical and surgical treatment technologies and on-site pathology diagnostic capabilities, and is a center for training the next generation of the world's wildlife health professionals. 

Whether we see it or not, humans are intimately connected to the natural world around us, and our globalized world further connects all humans on Earth. It is because of these connections that nature and humans can impact one another, why our actions and choices can have global consequences, and why the health of ecosystems and the animals within them directly impacts human health. WCS Education Department's Field Sight team recently did a special focus story on Global Health. This story explores the work of our WCS Health team and the ONE WORLD - ONE HEALTH initiative. Teachers can use the materials to engage students with a global awareness, an understanding of how diseases spread in wild populations and from wildlife to humans, as well as some of the actions we can take at home to make a difference in global health.

From our Little Zoo Vets program to training veterinary, pathology, biology and other students all around the globe, to supporting graduate students in the United States, building the capacity of the world's future wildlife health workforce is a key priority of WCS's Wildlife Health Programs.

Banner image photo credit: Endangered Primate Rescue Center, Vietnam