In conservation, it is a well known idea that species found to be cute, cuddly, anthropomorphized, "disnified" (what I refer to as Disney making a kids movie featuring an animal) if you can call it that, are more likely to gain public sympathy and draw attention to its plight. If we had a panda bear invasion in Michigan, you might be hard pressed to find anyone willing to do anything about it. Heck, even I may need convincing :)
However, panda's aside, the issue of humans appreciating some invasive species and not wanting them gone is an issue. I found an interesting article by Maggie Koerth-Baker (link is below) that discusses this exact issue. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-happens-when-humans-fall-in-love-with-an-invasive-species/
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AuthorShikha Singh is the coordinator for the JLW CISMA. She has a BSc. in Biology from University of Western Ontario, and her master's and PhD at Michigan State University from the Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife. Her areas of expertise include water quality, water policy, invasive species, education/outreach and public speaking. |