Conklin donated specimens in 1869 to Brown University for laboratory work, which included the carcasses of large birds and several monkeys.

[7] Conklin's donations from the Central Park Zoological Collection in 1876 included one Moor macaque (Macacus Maurus) on 22 March.

[1] Conklin spoke before the American Acclimatization Society in November 1877, a New York City-based organization led by Eugene Schieffelin, outlining national initiatives to bring in "birds which were useful to the farmer and contributed to the beauty of the groves and fields.

[12] That year, he also published studies on the Black Snake (Bascanion constrictor) and its eating habits within an exhibit at the Central Park Menagerie.

Meanwhile, the Director of the Menagerie was permitted to exchange surplus animals from the Department of Public Parks for other species without incurring expenses.

[17] Among his 1884 contributions to the U.S. National Museum were several monkeys, two lemurs, a jumping mouse, a fruit-eating bat, a civet cat, an Indian fawn, and a great kangaroo.

[23] William A. Conklin participated in the first annual exhibition of the New York Poultry Exchange held at Madison Square Garden in December 1887.

[1] He continued his role as editor of "The Journal of Comparative Medicine and Veterinary Archives," which transitioned from a quarterly to a monthly publication.

The Department of Mammals received 26 monkeys, including Kitty the chimpanzee, as well as lions, panthers, ocelots, a hyena, black bears, foxes, deer, antelopes, a bison, an Indian buffalo, angora goats, and a camel.

The Department of Birds was supplied with 22 specimens, such as a Chinese thrush, toucan, cockatoo, macaw, pheasants, a pelican, and herons.

He was tasked with diagnosing the condition of Lucy Juba-Nile, a popular $3,000 hippopotamus living at the Highland Park Zoological Garden.

He achieved national fame as the attending physician to the hippo family at New York's Central Park Zoo, before being dismissed in 1892 by Tammany Hall politicians.