Animals

The Iconification of Animals

This reality is especially evident in reporting the impact of climactic change on animals, as some animals are perceived as having higher conservation and aesthetic value than others. European and North American elites have claimed more appreciation of these values as a mark of distinction since the turn of the 19th century, according to Karl Jacoby These values were institutionalized and exported to the rest of the world in the setting of a global conservation regime that emerged in the context of European empires and westward expansion in North America.

These values were popularized with the rise of car culture after World War II, as large numbers of North Americans began visiting wild places in their leisure time, as explained by Roderick Neumann. They also became enshrined by the Walt Disney-style nature films that became popular during this period, and by the dramatic international success of Bernard Grizmek's book Serengeti Shall Not Die! For the most part, middle-class and formally-educated people embraced these values.

Over time, the popularization of charismatic fauna in the media has literally increased the value of certain animals. Images of soaring eagles sell pickup trucks, wild mustangs sell cigarettes, and a cartoon tiger sells cereal. Popular tourist destinations are marketed by promises of seeing grizzly bears, jaguars, noindent scarlet macaws, kangaroos, elephants, lions, and rhinos in distant and exotic locations. These same types of animals and exotic locales are also a major selling point for films, such as Finding Nemo, Madagascar, and The Wild. Finally, the association of certain animals with major conservation organizations has been a source of advantage in a highly-competitive funding environment. The World Wildlife Fund panda is one of the most successful logos in the world. The African Wildlife Foundation's ivory ban campaign was the most successful direct mail charity solicitation of all time. Ironically, it contributed to an international treaty that resulted in an explosion of elephant populations in Southern Africa, such that the animals began destroying their own habitat.

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