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Public interest in individual study animals can bolster wildlife conservation

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 7, pages 478–479 (2023)Cite this article

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Scientists have long debated the potential benefits and detriments of assigning names to individual study animals1. Motivated by the goal of maintaining scientific objectivity, some researchers shy away from labelling study subjects with proper names or from publicizing such names1. On the other hand, naming animal study subjects can boost researcher empathy2, and assigning identities to individual study animals is both necessary and customary in behavioural, population and conservation-related studies3,4. Beyond the practical value of naming individual study animals, narratives around animal names have the power to engage the public with conservation initiatives.

There is an increasing body of evidence that demonstrates the power of narrative in shifting people’s attitudes and behaviours around critical environmental topics such as climate change7. This aligns with decades of research that connects people’s emotions with their desired and implemented actions towards environmental management8. Anthropomorphism, meanwhile, has been associated with holding mutualist values towards wildlife — such as an aversion to lethal removal9. Naming individual study animals and creating public-facing narratives around them is one potential method of harnessing relevant positive attitudinal correlates of anthropomorphism and associated human emotional connections.

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Fig. 1: Memorial flowers placed in front of a mural of P-22 in the Silver Lake neighbourhood of Los Angeles.

Sipa US/Alamy Stock Photo.

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  1. Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Christine E. Wilkinson

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Correspondence to Christine E. Wilkinson.

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Wilkinson, C.E. Public interest in individual study animals can bolster wildlife conservation. Nat Ecol Evol 7, 478–479 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02009-9

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