Comparing Empathy for Wildlife Across the Animal Kingdom

While conventional wisdom suggests people feel higher levels of empathy for certain animal groups, research shows mixed findings that do not always align with what’s expected. Charismatic species are animals whose appealing traits inspire people to care about them and want to support their conservation, yet visitors sometimes express stronger emotional connections with fish, birds, and invertebrates, which often are not thought of as charismatic species. This disconnect between assumptions and reality raises questions for institutions working to foster meaningful human-wildlife connections and provided this review with it’s guiding question: How does human empathy for animals vary across different groups of animals and what factors and strategies influence these empathy responses?

This review and practitioner guide includes a summary of the research landscape on this topic, the factors that influence empathy differences, and translates the research findings into actionable strategies for zoo and aquarium professionals.