Wildlife Trust is an international organization of scientists dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity.  For more than 35 years, Wildlife Trust has focused its efforts on conservation.  Today, we are known for our innovative research on the intricate relationships between wildlife, ecosystems and human health.

Wildlife Trust’s work spans the U.S. and more than 20 countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia to research ways for people and wildlife to share bioscapes for their mutual survival.  Our strength is built on our innovations in research, education and training and our accessibility to international conservation partners.

Our dedicated scientific teams currently head programs in the metropolitan New York area, Florida and along the coast of the Southeastern U.S. Internationally, our programs support conservationists at the local level to save endangered species and their habitats and to protect delicate ecosystems for the benefit of wildlife and humans.

We believe the key to success is long-term, grassroots involvement. Wildlife Trust, a conservation science innovator, specializes in saving biodiversity in human-dominated bioscapes where ecological health is most at risk because of habitat loss, species imbalance, pollution and other environmental issues caused by human-induced change.

Wildlife Trust was founded in 1971 by British naturalist, author and television personality Gerald M. Durrell, who is perhaps best known for his many entertaining books based on his life’s work with animals, as well as a dozen series on the BBC.

Durrell''s love and interest in animals led him to create his own zoo to serve primarily as a breeding center for endangered species.  Durrell founded the Jersey Zoological Park in 1958 to house his growing collection of animals.  He then built up The Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (now the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust) to engage in international conservation efforts, and in 1971, he founded a sister organization in America called Wildlife Preservation Trust International.

Wildlife Preservation Trust International, known today as Wildlife Trust, has expanded its mission to include not only endangered species conservation and training for local scientists, but also international conservation organization development, resolution of human-wildlife conflicts, integrated conservation and community development projects, as well as a new field linking environment and health -- Conservation Medicine.

Our scientists are experts in wildlife conservation and have achieved successes in restoration of species including Asian elephants, West Indian manatees, jaguars, black lion tamarins, African wild asses, milky storks and many others. Wildlife Trust is a leader in protecting ecosystem health through our research on the movement of disease agents among species: for example, our team of scientists uncovered the natural reservoir of the SARS virus.

Wildlife Trust believes that conservation is best practiced by local scientists/conservationists who participate actively in their communities. In our national and international programs, we work with conservation scientists who make life-long commitments to wildlife conservation and citizen participation.

Wildlife Trust''s roster of experts includes scientists from Wildlife Trust, the global Wildlife Trust Alliance and the Consortium for Conservation Medicine, which is based at the Wildlife Trust headquarters in New York City.