 (1).png){kind=spacer}
2 months ago
24
If you were planning on buying your child a teddy bear this Christmas, woke scientists say you should think again.
A cuddly toy might be a dear childhood companion, but a group of French researchers now complain that these 'caricatures' fail to educate children about nature.
Teddy bears are designed to be adorably cute, with oversized heads, massive eyes, as well as muzzles and paws that are distinctly free of flesh-rending teeth and claws.
According to the researchers, this Disney-esque view of the deadly predators risks jeopardising children's relationship with nature.
Their concern is that children raised on soft, cuddly, but unscientific toys will grow up with a limited understanding of real wildlife.
Lead author Dr Nicolas Mouquet, of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), told the Daily Mail: 'For many children, their first “wild animal” isn’t spotted in the forest but cuddled in their crib.
'The features that make teddy bears so lovable, big round heads, soft fur, uniform colours, and gentle shapes, don’t resemble wild bears at all.
'If the bear that comforts a child looks nothing like a real bear, the emotional bridge it builds may lead away from, rather than toward, true biodiversity.'
Scientists say that children shouldn't be given cuddly stuffed bears since they fail to educate them about nature. This graph shows the typical 'cute' characteristics of toys compared to real bears
In a new paper, published in the journal BioScience, Dr Mouquet and his co-authors argue that children's toys are an important gateway for learning more about nature.
The researchers surveyed 11,000 people to see if they had a cuddly toy growing up and, if so, what type of animal it was.
Out of those surveyed, 43 per cent said that their childhood toy had been a bear, making it the most popular by far.
Yet the researchers also point out that these toys are characterised by features more commonly found in human babies than in bears.
'Teddy bears follow universal cuteness rules: big heads, round silhouettes, uniform soft fur, neutral colours, and expressive eyes, features that make them instantly lovable,' says Dr Mouquet.
The researcher's argument is essentially that this represents a wasted opportunity to help children connect with nature.
Dr Mouquet says: 'Don’t misinterpret our results, our goal isn’t to get rid of teddy bears, far from it! These toys are wonderful companions. Instead, we think they can be used more thoughtfully.'
The connection that children build with their first cuddly toy is incredibly powerful, offering physical comfort and a constant companion that stays with them for years.
The researchers say that cuddly toys create powerful emotional connections, which could be used to help children learn to care about nature
Real bears like grizzlies (pictured) often lack the cute characteristics of toys. Children raised on 'caricatures' of these animals may grow up to have misunderstandings about the real animals
In this way, teddy bears can act as 'emotional ambassadors' for the real animals.
But if the bears we love as children look nothing like the animals we are being asked to protect in the wild, that connection doesn't help at all.
In a second study, the researchers compared the physical traits of bears to those of stuffed animals.
While no stuffed toy looked anything like a real species, the bears that came closest to our cuddly ideal were pandas.
Dr Mouquet thinks it is no coincidence that the most toy-like of the bear species is also the bear which receives the most attention when it comes to conservation and is frequently used as a mascot for environmental projects.
He adds: 'My interest in teddy bears comes from a broader question: why do some species get a lot of attention and protection, while others are ignored?
'Teddy bears are a fun, almost universal way to explore this same bias, because they reveal which traits make us care about certain animals from a very young age.'
The researchers don't want us to chuck out our old beloved bears or turn beloved characters like Paddington or Winnie the Pooh into terrifying grizzlies.
The researchers don't say that classic characters like Paddington (left) need to be made more realistic. Rather, they would like to see more toys that resemble real bears, including those from less well-loved species such as the sun bear (right)
However, they would like to see toys with more realistic features being offered alongside these classic designs.
Toy offerings could represent less-well-loved species like the Malaysian sun bear, or expand beyond bears and rabbits to include animals that aren't traditionally considered cute.
While more realistic toys might not be as adorable, they could help children build a connection with the realities of nature earlier in their lives.
'During our surveys, we heard so many touching stories about people’s childhood bears. These toys carry memories, comfort, and love,' says Dr Mouquet.
'If we want people to truly care about biodiversity, we have to understand the emotional pathways that connect humans to nature - pathways that, for many of us, begin with a simple teddy bear.'
WHAT ARE SUN BEARS AND HOW DO THEY MIMIC FACES?
Sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) are the world’s smallest bears, found in Southeast Asian rainforests.
Unlike primates, which tend to show the most frequent and sophisticated use of facial expressions, sun bears don’t form large groups in which complex facial expressions would play an important role in communication.
They are playful but are largely solitary animals.
But the new research says that they can perform this complex form of social bonding.
The bears, aged 2-12, were housed in a Conservation Centre in Malaysia in which enclosures were large enough to allow bears to choose whether to interact or not.
Despite the bears' preference in the wild for a solitary life, the bears in this study took part in hundreds of play bouts, with more than twice as many gentle play sessions compared to rough play.
During these encounters, the research team coded two distinct expressions - one involving a display of the upper incisor teeth, and one without.
The bears were most likely to show precise facial mimicry during gentle play.
