Prokop Pavol, Balcerčík Jozef, Bonin Patrick, Thiebaut Gaëtan, Provazník Zuzana, Zvarík Milan, Zvaríková Martina, Fedor Peter
Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Department of Environmental Ecology and Landscape Management, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 2;15(1):23278. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-06861-6.
Human perception of predators is extremely important because the decline in biodiversity requires greater involvement from the public in species conservation. We conducted an online study in Slovakia with 225 adult participants (151 women; mean age = 24 years), who viewed a series of short videos depicting predator-prey interactions in which the predator either won or lost the encounter. Most of the predators depicted were large mammals (e.g., leopards, lions), one of which was a snake. We examined participants' compassion towards both the predator and prey and their willingness to protect these species. Participants exhibited greater compassion towards predators when they lost, whereas prey received higher compassion scores when they lost than when they won. Prey generally received higher compassion scores than predators. Fear of perceived animals was negatively correlated with compassion for predators and prey. Perceived fear and compassion for both predators and prey were positively correlated with the willingness to protect them (WTP), although these correlations were negative for the majority of predator species. WTP was not significantly influenced by the outcome of the encounter. Snakes, often considered prototypical stimuli for human fear, elicited less compassion and lower WTP compared to mammalian predators. We conclude that human sensitivity to physical interactions between predators and prey does not necessarily translate into a willingness to protect these animals. Conservation strategies need to consider the emotional and cognitive biases people hold toward different species. By acknowledging these biases, especially fear and perceived charisma, conservation campaigns may more effectively foster public support for protecting a broader range of species.
人类对捕食者的认知极其重要，因为生物多样性的下降需要公众更多地参与物种保护。我们在斯洛伐克进行了一项在线研究，有225名成年参与者（151名女性；平均年龄 = 24岁），他们观看了一系列描绘捕食者与猎物互动的短视频，其中捕食者在遭遇中要么获胜要么失败。所描绘的大多数捕食者是大型哺乳动物（如豹子、狮子），其中一个是蛇。我们研究了参与者对捕食者和猎物的同情心以及他们保护这些物种的意愿。当捕食者失败时，参与者对它们表现出更大的同情心，而猎物失败时比获胜时得到更高的同情心得分。猎物通常比捕食者得到更高的同情心得分。对所感知动物的恐惧与对捕食者和猎物的同情心呈负相关。对捕食者和猎物的感知恐惧和同情心与保护它们的意愿（WTP）呈正相关，尽管这些相关性对大多数捕食者物种来说是负的。WTP不受遭遇结果的显著影响。蛇通常被认为是引发人类恐惧的典型刺激物，与哺乳动物捕食者相比，引发的同情心更少，WTP更低。我们得出结论，人类对捕食者与猎物之间物理互动的敏感度不一定转化为保护这些动物的意愿。保护策略需要考虑人们对不同物种持有的情感和认知偏见。通过承认这些偏见，特别是恐惧和感知到的魅力，保护运动可能更有效地促进公众对保护更广泛物种的支持。
