Charismatic Species Research Articles

Charismatic species, matching, and demographics in conservation donations: An experimental investigation

Conservation organizations employ charismatic species to appeal to potential donors and increase contributions. However, evidence that this strategy increases donations is mixed. In an experimental setting, we investigate the effects of species charisma and the characteristics of potential donors on donations to conservation organizations. We conducted a modified dictator game through MTurk with 330 subjects, exploring subjects’ responses to one of sixteen treatments that differ across three dimensions. The first dimension involves exposure to an image that varies among subjects in terms of charisma. In the second dimension, we use differing donation matching rates to examine the effectiveness of matching gifts. With the final dimension, we consider real versus hypothetical scenarios. Our key findings are that the effects of charismatic species on donations are limited after controlling for the characteristics of the subjects and that those faced with a hypothetical scenario donate significantly more than those with real stakes. These results suggest conservation organizations, particularly those with a national or international focus, should consider the characteristics of potential donors targeted by their fundraising campaigns rather than relying on images of charismatic species.

Drivers of agricultural producers' tolerance towards less-charismatic avian species

Increasing wildlife tolerance (i.e., “the willingness of an individual to absorb the extra potential or actual costs of living with wildlife”) can reduce human-wildlife conflict (HWC). Previous research shows how socio-cultural and psychological factors shape HWC, focusing on carnivores and charismatic species. Less-charismatic species, particularly non-mammals, have received less attention from both the scholarly and policy-making communities even though they may be socially, culturally, and ecologically important. This paper applies the Wildlife Tolerance Model (WTM) to examine livestock producers' interactions with a less-charismatic avian species, black vultures (Coragyps atratus), in the Midwestern USA, as an example of an emerging HWC in an agricultural landscape. We collected usable survey data from 168 livestock producers in Indiana and Kentucky and used a partial-least squares structural equation model to assess potential drivers of their tolerance of black vultures. Intangible costs (i.e., negative emotions associated with black vultures), utilitarian wildlife value orientations (WVOs), and tendency towards using more severe management actions were significantly associated with reduced tolerance. Intangible benefits (i.e., “non-monetary factors such as stress and fear”) and mutualistic WVOs were significantly associated with increased tolerance. Importantly, tangible costs (i.e., “estimated economic costs associated with livestock losses due to wildlife predation”) were not a significant predictor of black vulture tolerance. This paper highlights the importance of socio-cultural and psychological factors, rather than economic factors, in shaping people's tolerance of a less-charismatic avian species. It demonstrates the utility of WTM as a framework for assessing the economic, socio-cultural, and psychological drivers of less-charismatic avian species.

Rosettes in a matrix: Predicting spatial variation in density of a large felid in a forest‐production mosaic

AbstractLarge carnivores are keystone for ecosystems and flagships for conservation efforts but face severe threats globally. Protected areas are vital for the conservation of these charismatic species along with a host of ecological processes. However, the extent and scope of protected areas for conservation of all threatened species is limited, especially in the global south. Considering larger landscapes that can be compatible with large carnivore conservation goals is an alternative approach to ensure their persistence. This study explores the potential of multi‐use landscapes for the persistence of a globally threatened large felid, the Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca). This study investigated the spatial variability of leopard densities across a land‐use gradient using spatially explicit capture‐recapture framework in a tea‐plantation‐dominated forest‐production landscape mosaic in the Duars region of northeastern India. While the density of leopards in this landscape was estimated to be 7.96 ± 1.56 (SE) per 100 km2, significant (p = .048, t = 2.02, df=61) differences in estimates were observed between tea‐plantations (11.53 ± 2.72 (SE) leopards per 100 km2) and the forested habitats (4.67 ± 2.07 (SE) per 100 km2). Densities between tea plantations and protected areas (a subset of the forested habitat) were found to be comparable (9.19 ± 4.55 (SE) per 100 km2). The study posits that conservation‐compatible land use in landscapes shared with people can host a higher density of adaptable large felids like leopard than forested areas and that conservation planning needs to move beyond the dominant PA‐centric paradigm. The study also reinforces the importance of multi‐use landscapes for wildlife conservation, especially for an adaptable large felid.

Messy natures: The political aesthetics of nature recovery

Abstract Current aspirations for nature recovery to address biodiversity loss and climate change will involve changing what landscapes look like, which can create challenging aesthetic experiences for members of the public. In this study, we interrogate the role of aesthetics in shaping visions of nature recovery, focussing on the construction and contestation of ‘mess’ and ‘messiness’ in nature recovery. We examine the political aesthetics of messy natures using a qualitative approach investigating visual and text materials across different sites of production in Britain, from newspapers to social media, paying particular attention to visual materials Our results show how the mediated debate around ‘rewilding’ urban environments and a beaver‐themed garden winning a horticultural show are examples of a backlash against untidy environments through a politicised discourse, linking messy nature with left‐wing ideologies, in contrast to the perceived orderliness and conservative ideals of good citizenship associated with tidiness. In contrast, social media imagery of messy and wild gardens demonstrates how mess is consciously framed aesthetically as a desirable ‘look’ for restored nature, symbolising progressive and environmentalist ideals of good citizenship through activities such as nature‐friendly gardening and initiatives such as ‘No Mow May’, which celebrate the aesthetic of a more biodiverse messiness. And finally, we traced how environmental advocacy organisations are prefiguring the future of nature recovery in Britain through commissioned graphical representations that portray a ‘tamed messiness’ and the return of charismatic megafauna. Although these aesthetics may challenge prevailing pastoral aesthetics, they normalise continued inequality in the form of concentrated land ownership, especially in the Scottish Highlands. Policy implications. Our analysis shows that aesthetics play an important role in shaping views of what is ‘natural’, ‘normal’ and ‘good’ and therefore desirable in what a future (recovered) nature looks like. We suggest that nature recovery initiatives take aesthetics seriously, by interrogating how idealisations of ‘how nature should look’ may influence decision‐making alongside ecological and other considerations. Taking aesthetics seriously also opens avenues for engaging with social and environmental justice, where alternative aesthetics can help in imagining more socially and environmentally just futures. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Trending extinctions: online interest in recently extinct animals

AbstractHalf of all species are predicted to face extinction by the end of the century. Despite this, awareness of certain species' extinctions remains surprisingly muted, highlighting the need to improve and quantify public awareness. We explore the connection between biodiversity loss and public awareness by quantifying the changes in online interest on Twitter (now known as X) and Wikipedia both before and after the extinctions of eight species and following their reclassification in the IUCN Red List. Our findings reveal that extinction announcements generally spike online interest for most species, albeit briefly on Twitter (i.e. tweets and retweets about species), while Wikipedia (i.e. article pageviews of species) exhibits a more prolonged interest. IUCN reports were generally not associated with increased interest. Coordinated media coverage, especially when aligned with broader environmental narratives and key events, enhanced the impact of extinction announcements. On Twitter, spatially we observed a shift from local to global interest of users following extinction. We also found a small subset of influential users on Twitter, including content creators and media organisations, who disproportionately shaped conservation discussions. Environmentally oriented individuals and organisations also play a significant role, collectively comprising a third of the top retweeted users. Overall, these results highlight the need for conservation bodies, such as the IUCN, to engage more directly both with media organisations and content creators in order to drive public interest for conservation efforts, especially for less charismatic species. The tragedy of species extinction necessitates such efforts to ensure sustained and meaningful public awareness. Our findings also show that while social media outlets can generate global interest quickly, which may drive public discussions regarding ongoing extinctions and potential future de‐extinctions, this is likely to be short‐lived, underscoring the importance of alternative platforms such as Wikipedia, which can foster longer‐term engagement.

Behavioral Observations of Free-Living Scarlet Macaws (Ara macao) in Costa Rica, to Inform Ex Situ Management

The scarlet macaw (Ara macao) is a charismatic species that is native to Central and South America and commonly housed in captivity. Gaps in knowledge about these birds’ behavioral ecology in the wild hinders both in situ and ex situ management and conservation efforts for this species. We conducted seventeen days of observations of free-living scarlet macaws in two locations in Costa Rica, in February 2022, with the aims of (1) advancing our knowledge of this species’ natural behavioral ecology, and (2) generating data for comparison with captive macaws to help to inform their ex situ management (e.g., enclosure design and enrichment). Routes were walked within two locations—Bosque Escondido (BE), release area for captive-bred reintroduced individuals and no extant wild population, and Punta Leona (PL), an area of natural habitat within a resort inhabited by wild scarlet macaws—and focal interval sampling of multiple scarlet macaws in a group was used to record behavior and space use. The macaws at both locations were generally active, spent most of their time high in the tree canopy, relied on climbing to move within it, and used a wide variety of supports. The macaws at PL spent significantly more time feeding and locomoting, and less time perching, than those at BE, possibly due to differences in resource availability, rearing conditions, and age. Furthermore, the wild scarlet macaws at PL exhibited a variety of foraging strategies to acquire and manipulate food items within the tree canopy, including frequent use of their feet during manipulation. Despite limitations caused by a small sample size, a short period of observations, and differences between the two populations observed, this study provides insights into the behavioral ecology of scarlet macaws in the wild, which can be used for behavioral assessments of captive macaws while informing their ex situ management, with applications to animal welfare and captive breeding programs.

The Trojan seahorse: citizen science pictures of a seahorse harbour insights into the distribution and behaviour of a long-overlooked polychaete worm.

Symbiotic marine invertebrates can be small, hidden or difficult to find, hampering the understanding of their distribution and ecological roles. Haplosyllis anthogorgicola is a polychaete inhabiting the gorgonian Anthogorgia bocki, where it lives in high densities within the host's coenenchyme and occupies burrows formed by host tissue near coral polyps. This study provides the first records of H. anthogorgicola since its description in 1956, from colonies of Anthogorgiidae in southern Japan. We observed that host gorgonians were also inhabited by the pygmy seahorse Hippocampus bargibanti, a popular species to observe and photograph among SCUBA divers. Therefore, we examined photographic records of H. bargibanti available on the citizen science website iNaturalist and screened for structures associated with infestation by H. anthogorgicola to gather information on this elusive species. Our analyses confirmed that this polychaete and/or similar species are widespread in the central Indo-Pacific region. In addition, we observed some polychaete behaviours, raising questions about the nature of the relationships between H. anthogorgicola, its gorgonian hosts and the pygmy seahorse. Our study demonstrates that citizen science can contribute to our knowledge not only on the distribution and behaviour of well known and charismatic species but also inadvertently on overlooked and neglected taxa.

Prioritizing Conservation Areas for the Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) in Brazil From Low-Coverage Genomic Data.

Estimates of current genetic diversity and population connectivity are especially important for endangered species that are subject to illegal harvesting and trafficking. Genetic monitoring can also ensure that management units are sustaining viable populations, while estimating genetic structure and population dynamics can influence genetic rescue efforts and reintroduction from captive breeding and confiscated animals. The Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) is a charismatic endangered species with a fragmented (allopatric) distribution. Using low coverage genomes, we aimed to investigate the dynamics across the remaining three large disjunct populations of Hyacinth Macaws in Brazil to inform conservation strategies. We obtained low coverage DNA data for 54 individuals from seven sampling sites. Our results showed that Hyacinth Macaws have four genetically structured clusters with relatively high levels of diversity. The Pantanal biome had two genetically distinct populations, with no obvious physical barriers that might explain this differentiation. We detected signs of gene flow between populations, with some geographical regions being more connected than others. Estimates of effective population size in the past million years of the species' evolutionary history showed a decline trend with the lowest Ne in all populations reached within the last few thousand years. Our findings suggest that populations from the Pantanal biome are key to connecting sites across its distribution, and maintaining the integrity of this habitat is important for protecting the species. Given the genetic structure found, we also highlight the need of conserving all wild populations to ensure the protection of the species' evolutionary potential.

A new species of the pill millipede genus Rhopalomeris Verhoeff, 1906 (Diplopoda, Glomerida, Glomeridae) from Myanmar, and notes on Rhopalomeriscarnifex (Pocock, 1889).

The taxonomy of the pill millipede genus Rhopalomeris Verhoeff, 1906, which is restricted to Indochina and currently comprises six described species, is refined and updated. An integrative taxonomic approach was employed that combines morphological examination with DNA barcoding using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene for species identification and delineation. The first objective was to confirm the identity of Rhopalomeriscarnifex (Pocock, 1889), a charismatic species known as the "candy pill millipede" due to its vivid coloration, based on specimens collected near the type locality in Myanmar. The second objective was to describe a new species, Rhopalomerisnigroflava Likhitrakarn, sp. nov., discovered in Linno Gu, Kayin State, Myanmar. This new species is distinguished by its small body size (5.1-9.7 mm long) and yellow body with contrasting brown to blackish markings on certain terga. In addition, the position of the telopod syncoxital lobe relative to the lateral syncoxite horns separates it from other Rhopalomeris species. The interspecific divergence between R.nigroflava Likhitrakarn, sp. nov. and other congeners ranges from 10.85% to 16.13%, based on uncorrected COI p-distances, while the intraspecific divergence was 0%-7.44%. A distribution map of and a revised identification key to all known species of Rhopalomeris are also provided.

Distribution of fish species in the upper Po River Basin (NW Italy): a synthesis of 30 years of data

Freshwater fish is the most diverse group of vertebrates but, unfortunately, also one of the most threatened. While some well-known, charismatic species have been subject to important conservation efforts, many others have long been neglected. This paper aims to analyse the distribution over time of seven freshwater fish species and one lamprey in the upper Po River basin (NW Italy), an important biodiversity hotspot. Six of them are native species listed in Annex II of the Habitats Directive (Lampetra zanandreai, Protochondrostoma genei, Chondrostoma soetta, Telestes muticellus, Sabanejewia larvata, and Cottus gobio), while the other two are key invasive species (Silurus glanis and Misgurnus anguillicaudatus). Data from four regional fish population monitoring campaigns carried out between 1988 and 2019 were analysed. For each species and monitoring campaign, an average Representativeness Index, measuring abundance and population structure, and an Occurrence Frequency were calculated, and then assessed for changes over the time. Of the studied species, P. genei declined the most in the last 30 years, while C. soetta and S. larvata are in a very critical situation, with very few remaining populations. T. muticellus, C. gobio and L. zanandreai seem to have declined only slightly, but their vulnerability should not be underestimated. The two invasive species, on the other hand, show a substantial increase in occurrence as well as range. While some drivers for the decline in the native species vary according to their ecological and biological characteristics, others are more general and linked to the overall degradation of the river environments: habitat alterations, loss of connectivity, excessive water abstraction, pollution, and the presence of invasive alien species. The effects of climate change, such as the rise of inland water temperatures and the alteration of hydrological cycles, must also be taken into account. Diverse and far-reaching conservation efforts are needed to improve the fish habitat and thus also protect the unique biodiversity of this region.

Citizen science engagement reveals patterns of long-term persistence of an at risk butterfly in three metropolitan centers

Insect declines have been documented for about twenty years worldwide, and the more recent Bee Colony Collapse Disorder has brought public attention to the issue. With this in mind, the persistence and thriving of an iconic, once-extirpated butterfly, the Atala (Eumaeus atala), in three major metropolitan centers located in southeastern Florida is remarkable and deserves close examination as to how it happened. The Atala butterfly is a charismatic species mostly residing in an urban dominated landscape, and has been a prime target of citizen science engagement since the second re-discovery of the species in 1979 in coastal Miami. Three citizen science actions were instrumental in this recovery: reintroductions, year-long population monitoring afterwards, and participation in annual butterfly counts. In this research, we analyzed three different sets of monitoring data gathered by citizen volunteers to help us determine factors that may influence the Atala butterfly’s persistence. We found that the most labor- and time-demanding citizen science data allowed us to define fine scale population phenological dynamics enabling us to quantify the anecdotal biannual “crash and eruption” cycles, while the median level long-term engagement data revealed a coarse, multiple year crash and eruption population cycle. Our analyses illustrated that the contribution of on-going data collection gained through committed citizen science actions play a critical part in the species conservation strategy, allowing us to apprehend new integral knowledge of the butterfly’s biology, as well as factors influencing its population persistence and distribution.

Detecting the distribution of and public attitudes to charismatic alien species based on media coverage

Charismatic species are often reported by the media, providing information for detecting population status and public perception. To identify the number and distribution of free-living Black Swan (Cygnus atratus), a charismatic alien species in Chinese mainland and to detect the public and the media attitudes to the species, we analyzed the reports and emotional tendency from media coverage in 2000–2022 using manual reading, crawler extraction and latent Dirichlet allocation. A total of 6654 Black Swans were reported at 711 sites, including 147 individuals at 30 nature reserves. Successful breeding was reported at one-fourth of the total sites, including five nature reserves. The proportion of positive emotional tendency to Black Swans was overwhelming in the reports and was higher than that to alien species in general, suggesting that the public and the media are unaware of the risk of biological invasion. Effective management of invasive species requires the media clarifies the invasion risk of charismatic alien species. Promoting the unity between the harmfulness of abstract concept of alien species and the charisma of a specific alien species among the public help effective management.

Sentiment and attitudes toward offsetting and the biodiversity market in online media articles.

Biodiversity offsetting, a conservation approach to offset loss of habitat and ecosystem services, has been widely accepted and implemented in different legislative frameworks around the globe. I assigned sentiment scores (from -3 [very negative] to +3 [very positive]) to online news articles to examine public sentiment toward offsetting. I identified 86 pertinent articles published from 2013 to 2023 by web scraping online media outlets through keywords. I examined article content based on topics commonly associated in scientific literature with offsetting, such as risks or financial aspects. Most articles were from Australia (44%), 16% were from the United Kingdom, and 5% were from Colombia and Madagascar. Three distinct groups covered finances (n=47), species, and social impacts of offsetting (n = 23) and offsetting frameworks (n=16). Articles covering monetary and finance aspects had a lower predicted sentiment score (-0.72, 95% CI -0.98 to -0.47) than articles that covered new, alternative offsetting forms (-0.15, 95% CI -0.46 to 0.17), such as mitigation banking and credits. In articles focused on charismatic species and loss of livelihood, offsetting risk and social issues were associated with low sentiment scores (<-0.85). Sentiment scores were high for articles on offsetting at a multicountry or global scale (0.47, 95% CI -0.06 to 0.99), and scores were the lowest in Australia (-1.03, 95% CI -1.36 to -0.70). Public sentiment based on media articles was generally negative toward offsetting, and many of the ecological and methodological issues and risks were reflected in the articles, but mitigation measures as a prerequisite to offsetting were mentioned in only 18% of all articles. With the seemingly high public interest in conservation and hence offsetting, it will be imperative to expand the current breadth of information about offsetting that is being communicated or made available to the public.

Long-term monitoring of a flagship bird species in agroecosystems enhances stakeholder engagement in biodiversity conservation

Conservation efforts are needed in the face of the rapid decline in farmland birds over the past decades. While existing conservation strategies have shown limited success, there is a growing recognition of the role of farmers as primary stakeholders in agroecosystems conservation. We applied the "Human Dimension" approach, which emphasizes the importance of human perspectives on wildlife conservation, to assess whether a long-term monitoring project of barn swallows Hirundo rustica, ongoing since 1999, has heightened farmers’ awareness regarding biodiversity protection. Indeed, while monitoring serves to track population trends and understand the factors influencing species dynamics, it also provides opportunities for interaction between researchers and farmers. Through in-person administration of the questionnaire, we investigated the impact of the barn swallow monitoring project on farmers’ environmental consciousness in terms of their perceptions of the environment, knowledge about priority habitats for biodiversity, and preferences for environmental awareness strategies. Subsequently, we investigated whether environmental consciousness and the participation in the barn swallow monitoring project translated into their inclination to implement costless actions for barn swallow conservation. Our findings suggest that the barn swallow monitoring project may not have enhanced farmers’ environmental consciousness. However, a higher environmental consciousness and the engagement in the barn swallow monitoring project were associated to a greater willingness to undertake actions in support of barn swallows. This study highlights the potential of long-term projects in fostering the conservation of charismatic species through establishing a mutual trust between farmers and researchers over years of monitoring, with cascading benefits for the barn swallows.

Landscape fragmentation and connectivity as key variables on occurrence of human-wildlife interactions

Human-wildlife interactions (HWI) are one of the most highly studied topics from the fields of wildlife management and are reported to be increasing globally as anthropogenic lands uses expand into wild lands, especially in mountainous areas where forest habitats are in the proximity of human settlements. The upper Prahova Valley in south-central Romania provides habitat to several native charismatic wildlife species. Since 1990 this area has become a major tourist destination now characterized by a high density of major transport infrastructures and homes. To assess how the changes in land use have affected HWIs, from September 2018 to August 2019, we discussed with 370 local citizens from the cities of Sinaia, Bușteni and Predeal. We developed maps of wildlife habitat fragmentation and connectivity and superimposed them over the locations with the HWI hotspots. According to the results, over 50% of the hotspots identified where located in areas exhibiting the greatest level of fragmentation, and the species frequently involved in interactions were the brown bear (Ursus arctos), wild boar (Sus scrofa), and red fox (Vulpes vulpes). The maps suggest that habitat fragmentation could represent a primal cause for the regions’ high frequency of animal descents into settlements, since wildlife habitats and ecological corridors are affected by the fragmentation of anthropogenic infrastructures especially in the proximity of major settlements. As a conclusion, our results highlight the need for sustainable landscape planning in order to optimize biodiversity management and diminish interactions between humans and wild animals, based on: a) mapping the areas characterized by high quality wildlife habitats and including them into a system of strict protection, b) developing or enhancing wildlife ecological corridors to favour animal movement between intact ecosystems, and c) regulating the expansion of human infrastructures in the proximity of strictly protected habitats.

Integrating Ecological Value and Charismatic Species Habitats to Prioritize Habitats for Conservation: A Case Study from Greater Yellowstone

Integrating Ecological Value and Charismatic Species Habitats to Prioritize Habitats for Conservation: A Case Study from Greater Yellowstone

Ideas for collaborative social participation for the protection of charismatic species of the genus Abronia (alligator lizards, alicante lizards, abronias, tree scorpions)

A proposal for social participation is offered for the conservation of some populations of the genus Abronia (alicantes, dragonets) in urban-rural interface areas.

Relationships between pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, blood parameters and oxidative stress of white stork Ciconia ciconia chicks in Poland

The white stork Ciconia ciconia is a bird species located at the top of the trophic pyramid in grassland and wetland ecosystems. This charismatic species is susceptible to pesticides and their environmental residues. In 2016, we collected blood samples from 114 white stork chicks across Western and Southern Poland. Chicks were sexed by molecular analysis and aged by development pattern. We studied the relationship between the concentration of pesticides (beta-HCH, heptachlor, aldrin, endrin, 4.4′-DDD, 4.4′-DDE and 4.4′-DDT) and of PCB in the chicks’ blood with blood morphology and biochemistry parameters in the blood. The mean (± SD) values of concentrations of above detection level pesticides were: for (1) beta-HCH 4.139 ± 19.205; (2) 4.4′-DDE 9.254 ± 91.491 and additionally (3) PCB 16.135 ± 44.777 ppb. We found negative relationships between beta-HCH and oxidative stress enzyme activity in the blood, between beta-HCH and leukocyte concentration and between 4.4′-DDE and catalase activity. We also found a positive relationship between the concentration of pesticides in blood and the age of chicks. Interestingly, we found a higher concentration of PCB in the blood of male stork chicks than in female stork chicks. We provide more evidence that the presence of pesticides in the environment can be a strong stress factor, shaping the health status of birds.

Out of sight, not out of mind: The effect of access to conservation sites on the willingness to pay for protecting endangered species

According to the latest global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services, nature and biodiversity have experienced a global decline, making the development of conservation policies urgent. Herein, we used a contingent valuation survey to estimate the economic value of a reintroduction program for the huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), an endangered charismatic species in Chile. Our novel approach exploits changes in the access to the site to disentangle nonuse value from use value. We use parametric and nonparametric models to estimate the willingness to pay for the program. Our findings consistently indicate that the conservation of the huemul is valued more when tourist access is restricted, as opposed to allowing visitors access to reintroduction areas. We also analyze the sensitivity of this main finding to different cut-off points of a certainty scale, showing that the results are robust. We hypothesize that people are willing to pay a “premium” to keep the conservation site “out of sight” from tourist activities. This could also be related to the belief that a reintroduction program would be more effective if access was not allowed. A cost-benefit analysis using the most conservative assumptions suggests that social benefit significantly outperforms cost.

A Charismatic Hyena: Insights for Human-Wildlife Interaction in Shared Urban Environments

As human-wildlife interactions become more common in an increasingly urbanized world, widespread encroachment on habitat can exacerbate conflicts between indigenous fauna and the populations of cities and towns. Conservation strategies seeking to create empathy and harmony between humans and their natural world upon occasion utilize charismatic species to engage the public. Understanding the nature of charisma in nonhuman animals is therefore important for urban bio-diversity preservation programs. By personalizing wildlife, people are able to develop affection and a commitment to the supporting ecosystems and natural assets. This case describes the life and death of a striped hyena that captured the imagination of the city of Modi'in in Israel for 5 years. Notwithstanding legal efforts by a small minority of local citizens to evict the hyena from the town’s municipal boundaries, the overwhelming affection and support for the animal, especially among young people, not only defused the hyena’s detractors but ultimately contributed to the creation of a major national park adjacent to the city. The surprisingly compelling, bottom-up crusade supporting a hyena’s right to remain in her habitat, even after it has become settled by humans, suggests that the personalized framing of fauna and extensive deployment of social media on behalf of an individual animal can contribute to effective conservation efforts. While anthropomorphizing wildlife is often discouraged by zoologists and rangers, the tactical justification emerges as one of many lessons from the experience. The individualizing of species that “gives them a face” can help communities overcome negative perceptions and fears about large, intimidating predator species.