We hope these resources inspire you to participate in wildlife days to raise awareness for the conservation of biodiversity. Veríssimo (2019) discusses the challenge of focusing on such a large topic as biodiversity. However, with wildlife days, each spotlighted species (or issue) is focused on during a single day or week, allowing multiple species to reap the benefits of increased attention.
Increase the Impact of Wildlife Days with Social Media
Elevate Forgotten Species
The now-famous World Pangolin Day started in 2012 with a social media campaign that successfully brought this forgotten species to the global stage (Tompson 2020).
Address Concerns about Human/Wildlife Interactions
While some might be concerned with wolf/human interactions, social media marketing of wolf themed days could redirect that fear by increasing knowledge, familiarity, and overall comfort with the idea of wolves playing an important role in our world.
If the social media was connected to or promoted by organizations such as wolf conservation facilities or zoos, it would be more likely to reach an audience with built in interest on the topic such as Bentlage and Prokoply (2016) discuss. With assistance from social media influencers, educators, and individuals, information shared through themed days could attract those who have little familiarity with the species.
Benefit from an Extended Time Period
You may want to try a month-long theme like the Hawaii Invasive Species Council’s virtual Invasive Species Awareness Month.
Take Advantage of Trending Social Campaigns to Reach New Audiences
Australia’s quokka — a marsupial who looks like it is smiling in selfies — is a great example of how to make a social media campaign trend.
More Resources
View a list of wildlife and conservation days. Please be aware that this list is by no means exhaustive.
Have you decided what day you’d like to promote, but still need ideas for citizen science activities, apps, or projects? Here are some further resources you might like to try.
For Individual and Student Learning
LiveCams
- Farallones Cam
- Zoo with Us: Live cams from a number of zoos
- US National Park Wildlife Webcams
- Explore: A variety of species from multiple locations
Citizen Science Projects
Apps
- Zooniverse
- iNaturalist
- eBird
- Sustainable Palm Oil
- Earth Rangers
- Virry Game or VirryVR (in-app purchases)
For Inspiration and Partnerships
Wildlife Day Examples
- World Gorilla Day, organized by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
- International Red Panda Day, organized by Red Panda Network
- World Pangolin Day, organized by Annamaticus
- World Wetlands Day, organized by the Amsar Convention on Wetlands
- World Okapi Day, organized by The Okapi Conservation Project
- World Lemur Day, organized by the Lemur Conservation Network
Social Media Examples
- Peppermint Narwhal
- Paul Nicklen on Instagram
- Cristina Mittermeier on Instagram
- Daughter Earth Illustration on Instagram and Twitter
- Primatweeps on Twitter