On charisma and pūteketeke and conservation urgency
<p>Hands up who, a month ago, had never heard the word “pūtekteke”. Well, me neither! I knew about grebes, mostly because of where I work (Otago) an what I do (conservation plans). Of course now we all know about the pūteketeke and I suspect that folks will use that name more than Australasian crested grebe. There is also chat over whether the pūteketeke’s win was legit due to the “alarmingly aggressive” campaign from John Oliver and his Last Week Tonight team. And, just like you are welcome to pick whatever birds you love for BoTC, equally you are totally welcome to your opinion on the whole voting process.</p>
<p>What I’m interested in, and have been interested in for years, is how the media presents critters (and yes, I include plants in “critters”) and whether this shows up in the conservation attention that these creatures get. So, I went in, and have done a close reading of the Last Week Tonight segment and the Tonight Show with Jimmy Kimmel segment. Also, I had to google who the heck Pauly D is to write this, and I only mention that because I’m not sure quite how I would have encountered Paul DelVecchio Jr as I have never seen Jersey Shore and probably never will.</p>
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