Ugly Whales Need Love Too

I'm really not sure how I'm supposed to react to CNN online's top news story this morning claiming that despite not being as "cute" as Humpback whales, Northern Right whales are receiving protection too.

On the one hand, hurray for Right whales! On the other, WTF? What are you trying to do, CNN? Give Northern Right whales, apparently the Ugly Betty's of marine mammals, an eating disorder?

But seriously, the article draws attention to a reality that we in the biodiversity conservation world struggle with constantly. At it's simplest: people protect what they love, and people love cute.

First a disclaimer: I'm not part of the church of whale-huggers, and take an approximately similar position on the whole cetacean issue as does Andrew at Southern Fried Science. Do they require conservation attention? Absolutely, but no more so than other critically endangered species. For me, whales mostly represent exquisite exemplars of evolution at work. But as vectors for transcendental epiphanies? Not so much. Besides, our conservation priorities should be evaluated based on urgency, not by cuddle-factor.

Still, I've been in the conservation biz long enough to realize that the public (and our financial base) responds positively to the cuddle factor. The world was recently transfixed (see here, for instance) by the coverage of a single, burned Koala in Australian bushfires, yet I didn't hear any concern voiced over the multitude of venomous snakes, arthropods, birds (or plants for that matter) that perished in the flames. WWF has an adorable Panda as a logo and supporters proudly sport the icon on everything from T-shirts to personal checks. When was the last time you saw someone wearing an American Burying beetle T-shirt in support of The Center for American Burying Beetle Conservation?

Cute sells. And in ocean conservation, I suppose we have to take our cute wherever we can find it. Thinking of a recent visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the exhibits which draw the biggest crowds (children to adults) were the Sea otters (so cute!), penguins (adorable!), and sea turtles (chubby is always cute!). And while their jellies exhibit and Monterey submarine canyon exhibits are always popular, it's more the "weird factor" at work there. I don't recall droves of visitors, however, oohing and awning in front of the Red-necked phalarope exhibit or the Asian vine snake.

And beyond Monterey, there are of course cute manatees, cute seals and sea lions, cute clown fish (thanks Nemo), cute sea horses, and even some cute birds. But it's always been cetaceans (small to large) that have commanded especially deep emotional connections and conservation interest.

Finding a conservation icon as touchstone for public concern is not easy. Take my own area of interest as an example. When was the last time you looked at a picture of a coral colony or reef and thought, "That's simply an adorable coral polyp! I must donate money to protect it!" I'm thinking not too often.

And therein lies a challenge, because when our target for conservation cannot immediately tap into an emotional connection, we then have to establish a sometimes long chain of custody from (in this example) an individual coral polyp (or colony or entire reef) to that which we can identify as worthy of your concern. Maybe it's a sea turtle that spends time on the reef. Turtles are cute and have faces. Or maybe it's a dolphin. Bonus points for finding a cetacean! And sometimes it isn't even an ocean organism that generates emotions and action. For some, conservation's bottom line is protecting ocean resources because it safeguards the human communities who rely upon local ocean ecosystems for their survival.

But let's get back to the Northern Right whale story that got me writing about this in the first place. In the CNN piece, one of the volunteer whale observers is quoted as saying that the Right whale is a bit of a hard sell for public concern because of its not very photogenic appearance. Even whale researchers admit the Right whale is overshadowed by more glamorous whales, like the Humpback whale. The volunteer goes on to say that she is proud to be helping an "underdog species" recover.

I will absolutely not criticize a conservation volunteer on her motivations to assist in an important project. I thank her and wish more people would get involved in local ocean conservation efforts. I will suggest, however, that positioning species along a cute/cuddly continuum creates a "beauty pageant trap" that reinforces an idea that species should be valued primarily for their physical appearance. This beauty pageant mentality can ultimately hurt ocean conservation as a whole when species (or ecosystems) don't match those expectations.