The research, led by Ugo Arbieu, a postdoctoral researcher at Paris-Saclay University in France, identified 161 distinct animal taxa represented across those teams, spanning mammals, birds, insects, sharks and more. Threatened species and those with declining populations were selected as mascots significantly more than other animals or symbols.<\/p>\n
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Mascots for rival teams Auburn University (tiger) and University of Alabama (elephant). Photo by Adam Brasher\u2019s via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).<\/p>\n
With these clubs social media followers totaling more than a billion combined, the authors argue that there\u2019s an enormous untapped opportunity to channel the emotional bond between fans and mascots into real conservation action.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnimal imagery is everywhere,\u201d Arbieu told Mongabay. \u201cAcross the five continents and across all sports, and both for men and women teams.\u201d Beyond the big cats and wolves, he said, there is a long tail of unique species represented. \u201cThere is so much potential to communicate, educate about biodiversity and what it is, but also to engage people in a different way of looking at nature.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea came to Arbieu while playing the video game Madden, which simulates American football. He was struck by the paradox that animal imagery saturated team branding, on jerseys, tattoos, banners, while those same species were declining in the wild. That observation launched years of research and ultimately a new initiative: The Wild League<\/a>.<\/p>\n Launched alongside the study, The Wild League is a framework designed to rally sports clubs, sponsors and fans around biodiversity conservation. The concept is straightforward. Teams that profit from wildlife imagery should also invest in protecting the species they represent. Arbieu envisions a coalition where clubs compete not just on the field, but in their contributions to conservation.<\/p>\n \u201cIf each of these clubs would contribute 0.01% of what they earn on their match days at home, it would be so significant for conservation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Wild League is currently in its pilot phase, with Arbieu and his team reaching out to clubs across Europe and beyond. His task now is to convince clubs that joining a coalition benefits everyone, as well as their brand.<\/p>\n While The Wild League is still building its roster, one U.S. initiative already demonstrates what the model might look like in practice. At Clemson University in South Carolina, the Tigers United<\/a> program has spent years turning the school\u2019s tiger mascot into a vehicle for real-world conservation.<\/p>\n Tigers United is a consortium of universities linked by their tiger mascots and a shared commitment to tiger conservation. The program grew out of a 2017 visit by representatives from Clemson and Auburn universities to New Delhi, where they connected with conservation leaders and the Global Tiger Forum, an intergovernmental body monitoring tiger conservation across 13 range countries.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are using athletics as the megaphone for conservation,\u201d Greg Yarrow, a wildlife ecology faculty member at Clemson and the director of Tigers United told Mongabay. He pointed to the sheer scale of the audience. \u201cIf you have close to 90,000 individuals in a football stadium, and each contribute $1 to tiger conservation, that\u2019s significant.\u201d<\/p>\n Hrishita Negi, associate director of Tigers United, grew up near Kanha Tiger Reserve in central India, where her father served as director, igniting her passion for tiger conservation. She said Tigers United program has purchased and deployed AI-powered camera traps that can identify tigers and alert wildlife managers in less than 30 seconds, helping prevent human-wildlife conflict before it escalates. The program also runs education initiatives connecting rural schools in India with schools in South Carolina.<\/p>\n Negi said the program\u2019s strength lies in its unusual position: a university with both a beloved tiger mascot and established partnerships with conservation agencies in tiger range countries.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of our traditional conservation approaches have truly struggled to mobilize that public support or a sustained kind of support that\u2019s needed for any transformative changes,\u201d Negi told Mongabay. This is why, she said, they \u201creimagine organized sports as a vehicle for conservation impact.\u201d<\/p>\n The study\u2019s authors note that connections between sports and conservation remains rare and largely ad hoc. The Wild League aims to change that by providing a framework that any team, in any sport, in any country could join.<\/p>\n \u201cI really, sincerely believe that the community of fans around professional sports clubs, their identity is developed through attachment to these symbols,\u201d Arbieu said. \u201cAnd these symbols are the colors, the jersey and the emblem and the mascot. It\u2019s really a rallying point.\u201d<\/p>\n Banner image of an Indochinese tiger. Image by Rhett A. Butler\/Mongabay.<\/p>\n Citation:<\/p>\n Arbieu, U., et al. (2025). Wildlife diversity in global team sport branding. BioScience. doi:10.1093\/biosci\/biaf181<\/a><\/p>\n FEEDBACK\u00a0:\u00a0Use this form<\/a> to send a message directly to the author of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-10-at-8.02.10-PM.png\")
The Wild League\u2019s interactive map<\/a> showing sports clubs and teams with mascots linked to animals..<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/T4T_Hrishita-Negi-009-sized-for-WP-scaled-1.jpg\")
Hrishita Negi, associate director of Tigers United, which leverages the Clemson University tiger mascot and other tiger mascots for tiger conservation.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of Tigers United.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/34a52e48b8906aa69bdb8f5b67cfed1f634308db6bafdd57a8a0a5c42fd59307.png\")
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