Inside the Yellow Rectangle: An Analysis of Nonhuman Animal Representations on<i>National Geographic Kids</i>Magazine Covers

Vrla, Stephen; Whitley, Cameron T.; Kalof, Linda

doi:10.1080/08927936.2020.1771056

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Animals were abundant in our sample of award-winning children’s books, and they regularly played an essential role in the story. However, the portrayal was highly skewed toward vertebrates, particularly mammals, a pattern in line with previous research on picture books ( Huxham et al, 2006 ; Sousa et al, 2017 ) and other cultural products aimed at children, such as magazines ( Vrla et al, 2020 ). While mammals predominated, especially as main and supporting characters, other animals such as birds, insects, and bony fish were portrayed less frequently and often figured as minor characters, even though actual species richness and abundance is higher for these groups than for mammals.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Animal biodiversity and specificity in children’s picture books

Hooykaas¹,

Holierhoek²,

Westerveld

et al. 2022

Public Underst Sci

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While animal biodiversity is declining globally, cultural representations of animals are highly prevalent in society and play an increasing part in shaping children’s perceptions of animal diversity. We studied animal portrayals in children’s picture books in the Netherlands, and coded over 2,200 animals from 217 award-winning books. We found a strong bias toward vertebrates, mammals in particular. Mammals were featured more often than other animals, played more prominent roles in the story, and were visually and textually specified more strongly. Furthermore, exotic and domestic species outnumbered native species. Picture books currently are likely to reinforce children’s perceptions toward only a small part of animal biodiversity. While we realize that picture books have other primary aims, picture book makers could be inspired and encouraged to diversify and specify their portrayals of the natural world. This would broaden children’s perceptions of the animal kingdom and could help foster lasting connections to biodiversity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Animal biodiversity and specificity in children’s picture books

Hooykaas¹,

Holierhoek²,

Westerveld

et al. 2022

Public Underst Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Additionally, respondents may be influenced by their previous experiences with reptiles and insects, particularly in the media. Representations of reptiles and invertebrates are lacking in comparison to more “charismatic species” [ 68 ], which may also explain why understandings of such species are limited, and thus why levels of agreement are lower. Moreover, many studies show that there is an underlying fear of some reptiles and invertebrates within communities, with perceptions that such species are pests, dangerous, dirty, and unable to be controlled [ 69 , 70 ], and even that they do not have active consciousness and thus do not perform active behaviours [ 63 , 69 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Positioning in Close-Encounter Photographs and the Effect on Public Perceptions of Zoo Animals

Shaw

McLeod

Borrie

et al. 2021

Animals

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With the rising popularity of social media, conservation organisations and zoos need to understand its impact on public perceptions of the animals they house and their role in conservation. In addition, many zoos offer close-encounter experiences, and visitors frequently share images from these experiences online. This study measured the effects that viewing such encounter images had on public perceptions of both the zoo and the animals they saw. One of sixteen images was randomly presented to participants in two samples: one of Zoo Community followers and members of Zoos Victoria (n = 963), and a representative sample of the Australian public (n = 1619). Each image featured one of four animals (Eclectus parrot, Kangaroo Island kangaroo, Monteith’s leaf insect, Centralian carpet python) and one of four human positions (human and animal touching, human and animal ~30 cm apart, human and animal ~1 m apart, animal alone). Results indicated that viewing different animals and the different human positions within these human–animal encounter images can affect public perceptions of zoo animals. In particular, the closer the proximity of a human to an animal in an image, the more likely respondents were to think that the animal was not displaying a natural behaviour and the more likely it was for General Public respondents to think that the animal would make a good pet. These findings can be used by zoos, wildlife tourism, and media organisations to ensure that they are sending clear, positive, and intended messages about zoo facilities and animals, as well as providing insights into animal encounter images in wider settings.

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“…Consumers' increased destination loyalty led to stronger belief in the value of ecotourism and the amount of money they were willing to pay at the Panda Base [43]. Research also shows that higher-status animals, like giant pandas, are held in higher moral regard than other lower-status animals, like frogs and bats [44], with pandas given the status of cuddly wild animals under the broader category of "Level of Charisma" [45]. This high level of charisma (the panda Chi Chi at the London Zoo inspired the WWF logo) has catalyzed the use of pandas as ambassadors at zoos around the world, increasing attendance [46] and significantly enhancing customer loyalty [47].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preference for Animals: A Comparison of First-Time and Repeat Visitors

Guo,

Fennell

2023

JZBG

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Wildlife tourism is one of the strongest-performing sectors in the global tourism market. While tourists’ preferences for and affection towards animals are a cornerstone of the industry, a better understanding of how experiences, including animal–tourist encounters and visitation frequency, influence visitors’ animal preferences is required. Through a comparison of preferences among first-time and repeat visitors of four species (giant panda “Ailuropoda melanoleuca”, red panda “Ailurus fulgens”, peafowl “Pavo cristatus”, and swan “Cygnus”), both before and after animal encounters at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (Panda Base), the results show that different species elicit varied and, at times, contrasting tourist preferences. As a result, animal preferences in wildlife tourism can vary based on different stages of visitation. Highlighting this dynamic relationship between animal preferences and visitation experiences is further elucidated through consumer learning theory and lively capital. The outcomes of this study contribute to a deeper grasp of human–animal interactions and have broader implications for the development of conservation programs in captive wildlife venues.

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Inside the Yellow Rectangle: An Analysis of Nonhuman Animal Representations onNational Geographic KidsMagazine Covers

Cited by 4 publications

References 25 publications

Animal biodiversity and specificity in children’s picture books

Animal biodiversity and specificity in children’s picture books

Human Positioning in Close-Encounter Photographs and the Effect on Public Perceptions of Zoo Animals

Preference for Animals: A Comparison of First-Time and Repeat Visitors

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