Nothing like the real thing | Clued-up kids hanker for animal inspiration say ZSL London Zoo

Oct. 19, 2009 - PRLog -- Getting up close and personal with animals is the best way of inspiring children to protect the world’s wildlife, a new survey has revealed.

Hundreds of schoolchildren from across the UK took part in the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Wild Child survey, which quizzed them on their attitudes to the natural world. When asked what would most inspire them to look after the world’s wildlife, more than half said ‘seeing animals in real life’ (52%).

Only 18% of kids said ‘more lessons about animals at school’, 13% said ‘more wildlife programmes on TV’, 11% said ‘understanding animal behaviour’ and just 5% said ‘looking at wildlife websites’.

And the major nationwide survey, which follows on from a similar 1996 ZSL survey, shows how kids are not just passionate about the natural world – they are also surprisingly clued-up when it comes to identifying vulnerable species.

While children in the ‘90s believed cows and deer were heading towards extinction, the top 10 animals listed by today’s kids are all classed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The animals listed were tigers, pandas, whales, elephants, polar bears, rhinos, gorillas, lions, dolphins and orang-utans.

Also in stark contrast to findings from the ‘90s, when kids believed putting their litter in bins was the most important change they could make to improve the world, today’s children have a more global outlook. Almost one third of the seven to 15-year-olds quizzed rated ‘protecting the environment’ (31%) as their top priority. ‘Making the world greener and less polluted’ was the next most popular answer (28%).

When it comes to solving world problems, Gordon Brown will be relieved to hear that children have faith in his leadership skills. Over one third (35%) of youngsters believe the prime minister or the government can help find the solutions to world problems, compared to only 7% who opted for U.S president Barack Obama.

Rich Storton, ZSL Director of Communications and Marketing, said: “The results of the Wild Child survey are testament to how passionate today’s children are about the natural world. At ZSL we are determined to encourage their passion and help future generations continue the work underway to protect the environment.”

-ENDS-

Editors Notes

For more information contact Amy Harris, 0207 449 6241 or amy.harris@zsl.org
The full results of the Wild Child survey are attached.
The Wild Child survey was carried out by BMRB Omnibus for ZSL between 19 March and 29 April 2009. A total of 531 children (272 boys and 259 girls) from across England, Wales and Scotland were interviewed.
The Wild Child survey is a repeat of the ZSL survey Animals make the world go round, which was carried out by BMRB Omnibus in 1996. As part of the survey over 200 young people were interviewed and over 70 young people took part in nine focus groups
The data has been weighted by BMRB Omnibus to ensure that demographic profiles match those for all young people in Great Britain aged 7-15. A rim weighting technique is used in which target profiles are set for eight separate demographic variables. The computer system then allocates a weight to each individual such that the overall composition of the sample is balanced in terms of the targets set.
Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is an international scientific, conservation and educational charity: our key role is the conservation of animals and their habitats.  The Society runs ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, carries out scientific research in the Institute of Zoology and is actively involved in field conservation in other countries worldwide. For further information please visit www.zsl.org

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Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is an international scientific, conservation and educational charity: our key role is the conservation of animals and their habitats. For further information please visit http://www.zsl.org