韓聰

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動物物種——那些引發(fā)公眾最大興趣和最深共情的物種——具有很高的滅絕風(fēng)險，部分原因在于許多人認(rèn)為這些物種的標(biāo)志性地位能確保其生存。

發(fā)表在《科學(xué)公共圖書館·生物學(xué)》期刊上的一項新的國際研究表明，老虎、獅子、北極熊及其他物種大受歡迎，其實可能造成這些物種的衰落。

研究人員結(jié)合在線調(diào)查、學(xué)校調(diào)查問卷、動物園網(wǎng)站和動畫電影四種方式，選出了十大最富魅力的動物。老虎、獅子和大象位列前三，而后依次是長頸鹿、豹、大熊貓、獵豹、北極熊、灰狼和大猩猩。

俄勒岡州立大學(xué)森林生態(tài)學(xué)杰出教授、該研究的論文合著者威廉·里普爾說：“我驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)，這十種動物雖然最富魅力，但幾乎全都面臨一大威脅，那就是被人類直接殺害，特別是獵殺和捕殺?！?/p>

“在我看來，人類這種殺害行為似乎極為諷刺，因為這都是我們最愛的一些野生動物?！?/p>

研究論文的第一作者、巴黎大學(xué)的知名學(xué)者弗蘭克·庫爾尚指出，這些動物中有許多經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)在流行文化和營銷材料中，以致可能構(gòu)成一個欺騙性“虛擬種群”，這一種群在媒體上比在自然界中過得更好。

例如，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，法國普通市民一個月內(nèi)通過照片、卡通、標(biāo)志和品牌看到的虛擬獅子，會比西非尚存的野生獅子還多。

庫爾尚說：“公司用長頸鹿、獵豹或北極熊進(jìn)行營銷的無意之舉可能助長一種錯誤觀念，即這些動物沒有滅絕風(fēng)險，因此無須保護(hù)?！?/p>

在論文中，研究人員建議那些用瀕危物種的形象進(jìn)行營銷的公司提供信息，推進(jìn)瀕危物種保護(hù)，或許還可以將公司部分收入用于保護(hù)這些物種。

人們?yōu)楸Ｗo(hù)瀕危物種做出了許多努力，盡管這些努力并不集中。研究人員指出，在1970年第一個地球日，2000萬美國人走上街頭游行示威，但自那以后，再沒有類似的環(huán)保動員了。

俄勒岡州立大學(xué)的里普爾稱，環(huán)保文獻(xiàn)中充斥著魅力物種的概念，公眾可能會認(rèn)為，確保魅力物種生存的努力已經(jīng)到位且有所成效。

“甚至很多文獻(xiàn)都強(qiáng)調(diào)要超越魅力物種，關(guān)注那些不甚知名的物種?！崩锲諣栒f，“公眾可能會理所當(dāng)然地認(rèn)為，我們正在盡己所能拯救這些物種，可我們甚至無法確定野生的大象、大猩猩或北極熊為數(shù)幾何?！?/p>

里普爾指出，大多數(shù)最富魅力物種的狀況都應(yīng)該引起警惕。

野生虎的數(shù)量估計不到其歷史數(shù)量的7%，如今至少有3個已滅絕亞種：巴厘虎、爪哇虎和里?；?。

非洲各地的獅子數(shù)量幾乎都在減少，獅子種群數(shù)量估計不到其歷史水平的8%。據(jù)說亞歐大陸僅有175只，且都在印度。

過去9年，非洲森林象的數(shù)量減少了62%，而草原象的數(shù)量據(jù)說不到其歷史數(shù)量的10%，這主要是偷獵造成的。

大熊貓現(xiàn)存數(shù)量不足2000只，不到其歷史規(guī)模的1%，并且由于氣候變化，大熊貓前途未卜。

“十大最富魅力的動物都是哺乳動物，包括陸地上一些最大的食肉動物和最大的食草動物，”里普爾說，“人類也是大型哺乳動物這一事實或許能解釋公眾為什么特別喜愛這十種哺乳動物——人們愛大型動物似乎也遠(yuǎn)勝于愛小型動物?！?/p>

在美國，亞馬遜網(wǎng)站上銷售的非泰迪熊填充玩具動物中，近半（48.6%）是十大魅力動物之一，而在法國，2010年售出了約80萬件“蘇菲長頸鹿”嬰兒玩具，數(shù)量是非洲長頸鹿的8倍多。

“這些可愛的動物出現(xiàn)在商店中、電影里、電視里及各種產(chǎn)品上，似乎在欺騙公眾，讓其誤以為這些動物過得不錯，”里普爾說，“如果我們不齊心協(xié)力采取行動去拯救這些物種，可能很快，所有人就只能通過以上方式看到它們了?！?/p>

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎?wù)?單位：鄭州大學(xué)外國語與國際關(guān)系學(xué)院）

1 Earth Day地球日，即世界地球日（World Earth Day），于每年的4月22日舉辦，是一項世界性的環(huán)境保護(hù)活動。

2 in place準(zhǔn)備就緒。

3 carnivore食肉動物。 ?4 herbivore食草動物。