Defining “Charismatic Fauna”

How do we define the term “charismatic fauna”? What makes a species “charismatic”, attractive, and appealing to us, and what makes a species not?

Well, “charismatic fauna” has never been universally defined, and many factors come into play when determining the charisma of a species, including its appearance, level of threat, and ability to be anthropomorphised, which vary from species to species, making it difficult to define. There are also no set characteristics that can be applied to every animal considered charismatic, and charisma’s subjectivity among different people makes it even harder for a strict definition to be applied.

That being said, a generalised finding of most charismatic fauna is that they are usually large, exotic, terrestrial mammals, considered to be beautiful, impressive, or endangered. The tabs under “Factors Attracting Us to Them” will further elaborate on 3 ways certain charismatic animals attracts us to them.