The Cuteness Factor

Questions:

1. Would you define this animal as “cute”?

2. If I told you this animal was endangered, would you donate money to help conservation efforts?

3. If I told you most scientists believe that this animal is beyond the point of saving, would you still donate money to try and help?

4. Why?

The Cuteness Factor

Annemarie Baldassarre

Friday, June 6, 2014

Susan Rattigan

Introduction

Context, Research ?s, Conceptual Framework

Methodology

Questions:

1. How does the fund raising of cute and cuddly animals differ from the fund raising of animals that don't have the cuteness factor?

2. How does the cuteness of an animal affect how people view it?

3. If people are educated about different animals and their predicaments, will they still choose to assist the cuter animal even if the other is in more dire need?

Questions and Methods

Results/Findings

Surveys

Survey 2 (Lunchtime Results)

Survey 1 (Survey Monkey)

Question Two:

If you were given ten dollars to donate between the aforementioned species, which are both endangered, how would you donate the money?

Question One:

Which animal do you think is cuter?

Option A: Giant Panda

49.6%

23.1%

21.7%

Option B: Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle

4.8%

95.2%

1. How does the fund raising of cute and cuddly animals differ from the fund raising of animals that don't have the cuteness factor?

• Data Collection: reported fund raising from known charities and foundations

2. How does the cuteness of an animal affect how people view it?

• Survey 1: Panda vs. Beetle

3. If people are educated about different animals and their predicaments, will they still choose to assist the cuter animal even if the other is in more dire need?

• Survey 2: Lunchtime Results- with a qualitative question

4.7%

Question Three:

If you were required to donate the ten dollars to one species or the other, which would you donate to?

83.3%

16.6%

Disclaimer: 3 participants chose 'Option Cherry' prior to deletion

Look at their face! They're so cute- how could you give up on that face?

- Hall High Student

Results/Findings

Data Collection

Literature Review

Study in Britain

• 6.4 million pounds for otter
• 4.0 million pounds for water vole
• 5.8 million pounds for the two combined

Endangered Species

$4.5 million was donated by a single person last yeain order to fund the panda research efforts for the next five years.

Conservation of Endangered Species

Organizations and Projects for Conservation

• WWF: the World Wildlife Foundation- the World Wildlife Foundation uses a comprehensive approach to address the issues at hand concerning threatened, endangered, and vulnerable species. Founded on scientific research, they work from the local level all the way up to the global level to protect species across the planet.

• Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 protects and recovers species that have been placed in danger of extinction and the ecosystems upon which they depend. It is regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Commerce Department’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Under the act, species may be listed as "Endangered" or "threatened." The ESA is considered by many to be the most important legislature, concerning endangered species, to exist. More than 1,300 U.S. plants and animals already have been federally listed as threatened or endangered and protected under the Endangered Species Act.
• The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. It attempts to regulate illegal cross-border trade, and safeguard species from over-exploitation.
• The National Parks Act (Canada) puts park staff members under legal obligation to protect any endangered or threatened species that falls under the park’s jurisdiction.

• The biggest threat to species survival today is habitat loss
• Biodiversity loss is one of the world's most pressing issues but it only receives a fraction of the attention other issues, such as climate change, do
• Conservationist E.O. Wilson estimates that approximately 30,000 species per year are going extinct, 100 to 1,000 times faster than the background extinction rate

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: the USFWS is the primary upholder of the Endangered Species Act in the United States. They work to conserve and protect US species. This includes listing and determining the status of threatened, endangered, and extinct species.

• Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC): The NRDC uses the law, science, and their wide network of members and activists to protect wildlife and habitats around the globe. They focus on curbing global warming, creating clean energy, preserving wildlands, restoring ocean habitats, stopping the spread of toxic chemicals, and working towards greener living in China. In 1971, they won the case for the Clean Air Act, which was the first federal legislation regarding air pollution.

Discussion

Donor Preferences and Education

Fundraising Disparity between Species

Fundraising and Funding of Projects and Organizations

• How do the results and findings impact one another?
• What conclusions can we draw from our data collection?
• Does the "Cuteness Factor" exist?

Review of Research Questions:

• How does the fundraising of cute and cuddly animals differ from the fundraising of animals that don't have the "Cuteness Factor"?
• How does the "cuteness" of an animal affect how people view it?
• If people are educated about different animals and their issues, will they still choose to assist the cute animal, even if the other is in more dire need?

• Scientists are more likely to want to work with the large and furry animals, so there are more advocates for cuter species as opposed to beetles or spiders.
• In terms of advocacy, according to a study done by Morgan Trimble and Rudi van Aarde (conservation scientists), threatened large mammal species are mentioned as many as 500 more times in published scientific journals and papers then threatened amphibians and insects did.
• “Accordingly, the world’s biodiversity is being beautified by selective conservation of attractive species, while the plight of the overwhelming majority of species is receiving limited attention.” -Ernie Small, veteran research scientist at Agriculture Canada in Ottawa

• The joint Canada-U.S. recovery plan for the whooping crane cost a total of $6.1 million US a year and will cost nearly $125 million US through 2035. The costs cover everything from captive breeding (more than $20 million) to $162,000 for satellite telemetry (searching for habitat). Yet, many less spectacular endangered plants and creatures have no budget at all for conservation.
• Coca-Cola donated $2 million to the World Wildlife Fund over five years to protect polar bears, and matched consumers’ donations up to a further $1 million, but there is no record of anything of the scale happening for any sort of amphibian or insect.
• Humans have an inclination towards certain traits in animals they wish to conserve, such as: usefulness (providing humans with food, clothing or medicine); Human-like traits, such as having a high forehead and expressive eyes and being a mammal, or at least a vertebrate; Being large and fierce; living above ground, preferably in a family setting showing off the mother with adorable cubs or kittens; brightly colored; attractive animals eat “clean” food. We don’t like scavengers and carrion-pickers;
• Traits that are unhealthy in humans should be avoided. We have little urge to conserve animals with warts, bow legs, wrinkles (except for elephants), irregular teeth or a habit of drooling.

• “Conservation Finance”: developing long-term financial solutions to problems that prompt endangerment of species
• Debt-for-Nature: In developing countries with heavy financial burdens from foreign powers, where the majority of Earth’s biological diversity exists, the WWF holds debt-for-nature swaps, which are based off debt-for-equity swaps. Private sector powers buy debt at a discount and exchange that for local currency investments. This generates profit for the investor, or in this case, for the conservation efforts. Rather than private sector powers, conservation efforts such as Conservation International work with the developing countries.
• Conservation Trust Funds: the location of funds from donations, grants, and other financing groups that is regulated for sustainable financing.