Marketing could help save less cute animals from endangerment

There is a multi-billion-dollar funding shortage for nature conservation, and what money is raised typically goes to the most popular animals like tigers and gorillas, according to the World Economic Forum. Meanwhile, conservationists struggle with fundraising for less popular (and less cute) animals like rodents, otters, snakes and spiders. Why it matters, per WEF's Bob Smith: "If companies can successfully sell mops and other humdrum products, why can't conservationists raise money to save the unglamorous giant golden mole – even if it looks like a small cushion with a nose poking out of it?"When the World Economic Forum used its EDGE of Existence program to feature obscure, endangered rodents on a fundraising page, they were able to predict that those featured species would raise 26 times the amount of money they would have raised without the marketing.Go deeper: Reed more about the study, here.