动物形象营销误导公众认知

韩聪

Many of the worlds most charismatic animal species—those that attract the largest interest and deepest empathy from the public—are at high risk of extinction in part because many people believe their iconic stature guarantees their survival.

A new international study published in PLOS Biology suggests that the popularity of tigers， lions， polar bears and others may actually contribute to the species downfall.

The researchers used a combination of online surveys， school questionnaires， zoo websites and animated films to identify the 10 most charismatic animals. The top three were tigers， lions and elephants， followed by giraffes， leopards， pandas， cheetahs， polar bears， gray wolves and gorillas.

“I was surprised to see that although these 10 animals are the most charismatic， a major threat faced by nearly all of them is direct killing by humans， especially from hunting and snaring，” said William Ripple， a distinguished professor of forest ecology at Oregon State University and a co-author on the study.

“This killing by humans seems sadly ironic to me， as these are some of our most beloved wild animals.”

Many of these animals are so frequently depicted in pop culture and marketing materials that they may constitute a deceptive “virtual population” that is doing better in the media than in nature， noted lead author Franck Courchamp of the University of Paris.

The researchers found， for example， that the average French citizen will see more virtual lions through photos， cartoons， logos and brands in one month than there are wild lions left in West Africa.

“Unknowingly， companies using giraffes， cheetahs or polar bears for marketing purposes may be actively contributing to the false perception that these animals are not at risk of extinction， and therefore not in need of conservation，” Courchamp said.

In their paper， the researchers propose that companies using images of threatened species for marketing purposes provide information to promote their conservation， and perhaps part of their revenue for protection of the species.

Endangered species conservation efforts are numerous， though splintered. The researchers note that 20 million Americans took to the streets in 1970 to demonstrate on the first Earth Day1， but there hasnt been a similar mobilization for conservation since.

Oregon States Ripple said the concept of charismatic species is pervasive in conservation literature and the public may assume that efforts to ensure their survival are in place2 and successful.

“Even much of the literature emphasizes the need to go beyond charismatic species and focus on the lesser known ones，” Ripple said. “The public may be taking for granted that were doing all we can to save them， when we dont even know for certain how many elephants， gorillas， or polar bears exist in the wild.”

The status of most of the top charismatic species is cause for alarm， Ripple pointed out.

The abundance of tigers in the wild is estimated to be less than 7 percent of their historic number， and at least three sub-species—Bali， Javan and Caspian tigers—are now extinct.

Lions are declining almost everywhere in Africa， with populations estimated to be at less than 8 percent of historic levels; only 175 individuals are thought to exist in Eurasia —all of these are in India.

The African forest elephant has declined by 62 percent in the last nine years， while savannah elephants are thought to be at less than 10 percent of their historic numbers—mostly because of poaching.

Fewer than 2，000 pandas remain， occupying less than 1 percent of their historic range and their future is uncertain because of climate change.

“The top 10 charismatic animals are all mammals and include some of the largest carnivores3 and largest herbivores4 in the terrestrial world，” Ripple said. “The fact that humans are also large mammals might explain why the public has a strong affinity for these 10 mammals—it seems like people also love large animals much more than small ones.”

Nearly half （48.6 percent） of all the non-teddy bear stuffed animals sold in the United States on Amazon were one of the 10 charismatic animals， while in France some 800，000 “Sophie the giraffe” baby toys were sold in 2010—more than eight times the numbers of giraffes living in Africa.

“The appearance of these beloved animals in stores， in movies， on television， and on a variety of products seems to be deluding the public into believing they are doing okay，” Ripple said. “If we dont act in a concerted effort to save these species， that may soon be the only way anyone will see them.”

世界上許多最富魅力的动物物种——那些引发公众最大兴趣和最深共情的物种——具有很高的灭绝风险，部分原因在于许多人认为这些物种的标志性地位能确保其生存。

发表在《科学公共图书馆·生物学》期刊上的一项新的国际研究表明，老虎、狮子、北极熊及其他物种大受欢迎，其实可能造成这些物种的衰落。

研究人员结合在线调查、学校调查问卷、动物园网站和动画电影四种方式，选出了十大最富魅力的动物。老虎、狮子和大象位列前三，而后依次是长颈鹿、豹、大熊猫、猎豹、北极熊、灰狼和大猩猩。

俄勒冈州立大学森林生态学杰出教授、该研究的论文合著者威廉·里普尔说：“我惊讶地发现，这十种动物虽然最富魅力，但几乎全都面临一大威胁，那就是被人类直接杀害，特别是猎杀和捕杀。”

“在我看来，人类这种杀害行为似乎极为讽刺，因为这都是我们最爱的一些野生动物。”

研究论文的第一作者、巴黎大学的知名学者弗兰克·库尔尚指出，这些动物中有许多经常出现在流行文化和营销材料中，以致可能构成一个欺骗性“虚拟种群”，这一种群在媒体上比在自然界中过得更好。

例如，研究人员发现，法国普通市民一个月内通过照片、卡通、标志和品牌看到的虚拟狮子，会比西非尚存的野生狮子还多。

库尔尚说：“公司用长颈鹿、猎豹或北极熊进行营销的无意之举可能助长一种错误观念，即这些动物没有灭绝风险，因此无须保护。”

在论文中，研究人员建议那些用濒危物种的形象进行营销的公司提供信息，推进濒危物种保护，或许还可以将公司部分收入用于保护这些物种。

人们为保护濒危物种做出了许多努力，尽管这些努力并不集中。研究人员指出，在1970年第一个地球日，2000万美国人走上街头游行示威，但自那以后，再没有类似的环保动员了。

俄勒冈州立大学的里普尔称，环保文獻中充斥着魅力物种的概念，公众可能会认为，确保魅力物种生存的努力已经到位且有所成效。

“甚至很多文献都强调要超越魅力物种，关注那些不甚知名的物种。”里普尔说，“公众可能会理所当然地认为，我们正在尽己所能拯救这些物种，可我们甚至无法确定野生的大象、大猩猩或北极熊为数几何。”

里普尔指出，大多数最富魅力物种的状况都应该引起警惕。

野生虎的数量估计不到其历史数量的7%，如今至少有3个已灭绝亚种：巴厘虎、爪哇虎和里海虎。

非洲各地的狮子数量几乎都在减少，狮子种群数量估计不到其历史水平的8%。据说亚欧大陆仅有175只，且都在印度。

过去9年，非洲森林象的数量减少了62%，而草原象的数量据说不到其历史数量的10%，这主要是偷猎造成的。

大熊猫现存数量不足2000只，不到其历史规模的1%，并且由于气候变化，大熊猫前途未卜。

“十大最富魅力的动物都是哺乳动物，包括陆地上一些最大的食肉动物和最大的食草动物，”里普尔说，“人类也是大型哺乳动物这一事实或许能解释公众为什么特别喜爱这十种哺乳动物——人们爱大型动物似乎也远胜于爱小型动物。”

在美国，亚马逊网站上销售的非泰迪熊填充玩具动物中，近半（48.6%）是十大魅力动物之一，而在法国，2010年售出了约80万件“苏菲长颈鹿”婴儿玩具，数量是非洲长颈鹿的8倍多。

“这些可爱的动物出现在商店中、电影里、电视里及各种产品上，似乎在欺骗公众，让其误以为这些动物过得不错，”里普尔说，“如果我们不齐心协力采取行动去拯救这些物种，可能很快，所有人就只能通过以上方式看到它们了。”

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者;单位：郑州大学外国语与国际关系学院）

1 Earth Day地球日，即世界地球日（World Earth Day），于每年的4月22日举办，是一项世界性的环境保护活动。

2 in place准备就绪。

3 carnivore食肉动物。  4 herbivore食草动物。