Is Conservation Just a Beauty Pageant?

When was the last time you received an email or fundraising letter to help save the Cuban solenodon, a beady-eyed venomous rodent? Or saw a bumper sticker to Save the Coelacanth, a giant prehistoric-looking fish? But baby polar bears ... those little guys can get people to empty their wallets and stop driving cars to prevent climate change.

We aren't the only ones affected by the cuteness factor — a study published in Conservation Biology showed that scientists spend their time and energy worrying more about adorable animals, too. As the researchers note, "In the eyes of science, all species are not created equal."

For example, looking at published studies since 1994, they found that charming little meerkats were the subject of over 100 studies, while the African manatee, a bloated sea cow, only scored 14. As a group, large mammals appeared in published papers about 500 times more often than amphibians. Morgan Trimble, a conservation scientist at the University of Pretoria in South Africa who carried out the study, said, "Scientists are people, too. And many of them want to work with the big and furry stuff." But the big and furries aren't always the ones who need the most help, or the ones who are most vital to ecosystem conservation.

Some conservationists say focusing on cute animals isn't necessarily a bad thing. Leopards and chimps help draw attention to the larger issues of habitat loss and endangered species. The money raised off their good looks often helps everyone in the ecosystem. And to some, it's not a question of whether unattractive species are being ignored, but whether we're looking at the big picture. Colin Butfield, with WWF-UK (of the panda logo), said, "There is no point in saving one species when we are losing whole habitats." 

Trimble is concerned that the conservation beauty pageant may lead scientists to overlook the extinction of ugly, lesser-known species. "The bottom line is that there is not enough money to go around and what we choose to learn about could influence what we conserve."

Overall, the findings aren't that surprising. People respond to cuteness. We've seen it in the domestic animal world, too, with a "survival of the cutest" twist on evolution among dogs. But if Trimble is right about the future of species riding on their looks, we could be in trouble. Biodiversity needs ugly animals, too.

There are some rebellions out there against all of this (conscious or subconscious) obsession with beauty, like the Endangered Ugly Things blog, which says its goal is "to promote awareness of all things both rare and repulsive." They're not kidding. But just because you probably don't want a framed photo of a Helmeted Hornbill in your study, doesn't mean the bird deserves any less protection from rainforest destruction and the endangered species trade than its prettier cousins.

Photo credit: Drew Avery