Kids and animals are a natural match, but researchers say the love youngsters have for animals may actually be clouding the public's mind about how endangered they are.

The study in the journal PLOS Biology lists what the authors say are the world's 10 most charismatic animals: tigers, lions, elephants, giraffes leopards, pandas, cheetahs, polar bears, gray wolves and gorillas.

They say the common appearance of these animals in cartoons, movies, and toys have led to what they call "virtual populations" -- people believe these animals are not at risk of extinction in the wild because they appear to be everywhere.

The study uses the popular French baby toy "Sophie the Giraffe" as an example. Eight-hundred thousand Sophie toys were sold in France in 2010 -- more than eight times the number of real giraffes living in Africa.

The authors recommend toy companies and anyone else who uses endangered species as trademarks donate some of their profits to wildlife conservation.

兒童喜愛動物看來理所當然，但是科研人員說，兒童對動物的喜愛實際上可能會淡化公眾頭腦中有關這些動物瀕臨滅絕的境地。

PLOS Biology雜志上刊登的研究列舉了作者認為全世界最受人喜愛的動物：老虎、獅子、大象、長頸鹿、豹、熊貓、獵豹、北極熊、灰狼和大猩猩。

科研人員說，這些動物經常在漫畫和電影中以及以玩具的形式出現，使人們產生了這些動物的“假象數量”。人們因為覺得這些動物隨處可見，所以會認為它們在野生環境中沒有滅絕的危險。

論文作者列舉了廣受歡迎的法國兒童玩具“蘇菲長頸鹿”的例子。2010年法國總共銷售了80萬個蘇菲長頸鹿，這個數量相當于非洲野生長頸鹿實際總量的8倍還要多。

論文作者建議玩具公司以及任何使用瀕臨滅絕動物為商標的人捐出部分利潤，用于保護野生動物。

Kids and animals are a natural match, but researchers say the love youngsters have for animals may actually be clouding the public's mind about how endangered they are.

The study in the journal PLOS Biology lists what the authors say are the world's 10 most charismatic animals: tigers, lions, elephants, giraffes leopards, pandas, cheetahs, polar bears, gray wolves and gorillas.

They say the common appearance of these animals in cartoons, movies, and toys have led to what they call "virtual populations" -- people believe these animals are not at risk of extinction in the wild because they appear to be everywhere.

The study uses the popular French baby toy "Sophie the Giraffe" as an example. Eight-hundred thousand Sophie toys were sold in France in 2010 -- more than eight times the number of real giraffes living in Africa.

The authors recommend toy companies and anyone else who uses endangered species as trademarks donate some of their profits to wildlife conservation.

兒童喜愛動物看來理所當然，但是科研人員說，兒童對動物的喜愛實際上可能會淡化公眾頭腦中有關這些動物瀕臨滅絕的境地。

PLOS Biology雜志上刊登的研究列舉了作者認為全世界最受人喜愛的動物：老虎、獅子、大象、長頸鹿、豹、熊貓、獵豹、北極熊、灰狼和大猩猩。

科研人員說，這些動物經常在漫畫和電影中以及以玩具的形式出現，使人們產生了這些動物的“假象數量”。人們因為覺得這些動物隨處可見，所以會認為它們在野生環境中沒有滅絕的危險。

論文作者列舉了廣受歡迎的法國兒童玩具“蘇菲長頸鹿”的例子。2010年法國總共銷售了80萬個蘇菲長頸鹿，這個數量相當于非洲野生長頸鹿實際總量的8倍還要多。

論文作者建議玩具公司以及任何使用瀕臨滅絕動物為商標的人捐出部分利潤，用于保護野生動物。