When we encounter advertisements encouraging us to save endangered animals, we usually see images of pandas, snow leopards (雪豹) or seals. It’s easy to feel sympathy for a baby seal with big puppy-dog eyes, but conversation efforts shouldn’t be based on how cute an animal is.

你看过濒危动物公益广告吗？它们通常都会用熊猫、雪豹或海豹——这些可爱动物的照片。瞪着萌萌哒大眼睛的小海豹，只看一眼就让人心生同情，但保护动物也要看它们够不够萌么？

A 2020 paper published in The Royal Society Proceedings for Biological Sciences found conservation efforts are heavily focused on vertebrates (脊椎动物) – 75 percent of budgets in Europe are focused on mammals (哺乳动物) and birds alone. Why are other endangered species considered less important? Evidence points to a lack of cuteness.

2020年一项调查研究发现，动物保护工作多集中在脊椎动物身上，而欧洲保护濒危动物75%的预算集中在哺乳动物和鸟类上。为什么不重视其他濒危物种？有证据指出是因为他们没那么“可爱”。

Researchers from the University of Montpellier in France published a study on June 7 in PLOS Biology. They found that fish conservation efforts were biased toward the more attractive species with bright colors and graceful shapes, such as angelfish and butterfly fish.
法国蒙彼利埃大学的研究人员发现，鱼类的保护工作更偏向于那些颜色鲜艳、外形美丽的品种——如扁鲨和蝶鱼。