The online archival material on the Department of Tropical Research just got a little closer to comprehensive! In addition to motion pictures, illustrations, and articles in WCS's scientific journal, "Zoologica," we have just added scans of more than 1,000 glass negatives. 1/3 #archives #photography

Bison are iconic. Symbols of unity throughout America’s history. Today, we celebrate 10 years since the American bison was named the U.S. National Mammal. Thank you to all who have worked to ensure the species continues to thrive.

New on the WCS #Archives Blog Over a few months, WCS Archives Technician Sabrina Moore digitized 1,000 glass negatives from the @wcs.org Department of Tropical Research—revealing extraordinary records of wildlife research, sometimes at a magnified scope. 1/3

We’ve got plans! Lots and lots of plans: architectural drawings, ranging from entire Bronx Zoo buildings to exhibition doors and railings to Bronx Park walkways, have been stored with our Zoos & Aquarium Operations department for decades. 1/3 #archives #architecture

Over on the WCS Archives blog, WCS Archives Technician Sabrina Moore reflects on digitizing 1,000 glass negatives from the Department of Tropical Research—many depicting people in Guyana and Haiti whose names were never recorded.

We are thrilled to share some stunning new additions to our Archives: a series of vibrant field illustrations painted by Department of Tropical Research artist Douglas Boyden during expeditions to Trinidad in the 1950s…

Do you think the #polarvortex arrived just to celebrate #PenguinAwarenessDay?! Brrrr. #archives 1/2

#archives #conservation #americanhistory

Wildlife Conservation Society@wcs.org · 8mo ago

Today is the 120th anniversary of the founding of the American Bison Society—a conservation milestone that began at WCS’s Bronx Zoo in 1905. With Theodore Roosevelt as honorary president, the ABS launched an ambitious effort to save the species. Today, our bison conservation efforts continue. 🦬 🌎

We’re excited to announce our collaboration with The Art of Fauna, a cozy puzzle app that scrambles animal illustrations into tiles (like this one) that you can re-assemble into picture perfection while learning more about the species! 1/2 #archives #puzzlegame #GameDev

The Congo Gorilla Forest at the Bronx Zoo is an immersive, participatory exhibit that is home today to the zoo’s gorillas and other animals. Congo represents an evolutionary step in zoo design that follows on an exhibit that opened 75 years ago this month, The Great Apes House. 1/4 #archives

We couldn't let this month end without a winged salute to 120 years of the Pheasant Aviary at the Bronx Zoo. The unique wood-framed, Tudor style building opened in September 1905, relieving some of the overcrowding at the Aquatic Bird House and Ostrich House. 1/3 #archives

#dyk? Alongside preserving and sharing historical @wcs.org records, the WCS #Archives also collects today’s materials to save for future generations. We’re especially excited about a recent addition from WCS’s Exhibits and Graphic Arts Department: 1/2

This Sunday, Aug. 10 is #WorldLionDay. The WCS #Archives holds bracing footage of a 1973 film titled "Predators of the Serengeti." It features George Schaller's Serengeti-based research on predator-prey relationships. The clips show lions hunting gazelles. 1/2

On this #ThrowbackThursday, the WCS #Archives looks back at the June 12, 1969 opening of the Bronx Zoo’s World of Darkness. That unique exhibition’s press kit, a folder packed with photos, facts, and statements from zoo leaders intended to help with news coverage... 1/3

100 years ago today, @wcs.org's Department of Tropical Research began their study of the Hudson Canyon as part of the Arcturus Expedition. They were awestruck by the diversity and beauty of the species they found just 100 miles off the coast of New York City. 1/3 #newyorkcity

We’re so excited about our new Digitization Project Grant from Metropolitan New York Library Council! We’ve got plans to digitize some beautiful glass plate negatives showing the expeditions of the Department of Tropical Research that have never been digitized before. Months ago... 1/3 #archives

As the film turns 50, don't blame ‘Jaws‘ for our fear of sharks, writes Hans Walters of WCS‘s New York Aquarium. But in reality, Walters writes for @nydailynews.com, this group of animals bears little resemblance to the antagonist of the book and film. 🌎 www.nydailynews.com/2025/07/19/t...

This Shark Week, some ideas on ‘Jaws’ at 50

I first saw “Jaws” during its theatrical debut in 1975 when I was 15. The previous year, family friends had loaned me Peter Benchley’s novel. The book and film terrified me. But I had been a shark-…

nydailynews.com

Don’t let this news make you feel dizzy but yesterday marked 20 years of spinning at the Bronx Zoo’s Bug Carousel! The merry-go-round opened on July 13, 2005 with 64 kinds of creatures modeled as rides. (28 were beetles!) 1/2

Please join the WCS #Archives in wishing the Bronx Zoo’s JungleWorld exhibition a happy 40th anniversary! JungleWorld opened on June 22, 1985. The 1-acre and 1,000,000 cubic ft. exhibition was the final section of Wild Asia. It opened with over 70 species of tropical Asian wildlife. 1/2

On this date 25 years ago, Astor Court at the Bronx Zoo was officially recognized as a New York City landmark! Designed by Bronx Zoo Director Hornaday and the architectural firm Heins & LaFarge, it was originally named Baird Court after the famed 19th century naturalist Spencer Baird. 1/3

This Sunday is #WorldOceansDay! To celebrate, we're happily taking another look at the Department of Tropical Research's Arcturus expedition which occurred in TWO oceans. 1/3 #archives

Today is the 40th Anniversary of the opening of the Animal Health Center, which was dedicated on April 30, 1985, under the direction of Emil Dolensek (pictured with snow leopard cub). The new facility replaced the Bronx Zoo’s first animal hospital, established in 1916. 1/3

The WCS Library and #Archives prides itself on facilitating knowledge. So, we’re grateful when other institutions help us fulfill our mission. For years, the Biodiversity Heritage Library has digitized many publications created by the New York Zoological Society... 1/3

Tomorrow, we wish a happy 130th anniversary to @wcs.org, the Wildlife Conservation Society! 🎉In 1895, WCS was founded (as the New York Zoological Society) in order to establish and maintain a first-rate zoo in NYC and promote the study and protection of wildlife. The WCS #Archives... 1/2

We’re grateful for the support that we’ve received over the years to make these treasures from our #Archives available online, with special thanks to the #LeonLevyFoundation, @clirnews.bsky.social, @filmpreservation.bsky.social, and Delaine and Malcom Strandberg.

Wildlife Conservation Society@wcs.org · last yr.

Otherworldly wildlife so close to New York City. 100 years ago, scientists and artists set sail on the WCS-led Arcturus. Madeleine Thompson of @wcs-archives.bsky.social shares the timeless beauty they found. We’re still working to protect #HudsonCanyon. 🌎 Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pik...

In 1925, six pioneering women joined the WCS Department of Tropical Research’s Arcturus Expedition to explore “Neptune’s Graveyard”—and changed marine science forever.

We’re glad to be joining the #ArchivesHashtagParty this month, looking at #ArchivesHandwriting. Here we see an early 1916 page from the guestbook of the Department of Tropical Research’s station in Kartabo, British Guiana. #archives

Thanks to a National Film Preservation Foundation Basic Grant, we are thrilled to have been able to preserve 5 more films from our archives. Subjects include a 1936 Department of Tropical Research expedition to what was then British Guiana... @thewcs.bsky.social library.wcs.org/Archives/Dig... 1/3

Looking for the perfect gift for a Bronx Zoo fan in your life? Check out the WCS Archives shop on Redbubble for products featuring classic Bronx Zoo designs from our archival collections. www.redbubble.com/people/WCS-A... #bronxzoo #redbubble