Animal emblems of sport organizations are under threat in the wild

This study investigates how wildlife is represented in professional team sport branding worldwide and explores its potential for biodiversity conservation. Sport organizations shape powerful emotional connections with fans, making them a largely untapped platform for promoting biodiversity conservation. This study is the first global, cross-sport analysis of wildlife representation in team branding, linking cultural symbolism with conservation potential.

The authors compiled a global dataset of 727 professional sport teams across 50 countries and 10 sports that use wildlife in their names, logos, or fan nicknames. They analyzed taxonomic diversity, conservation status, and geographic patterns using descriptive statistics and comparative analyses across regions, sports, and genders. Wildlife branding is widespread (24% of teams), with mammals and birds—especially large carnivores like lions, tigers, and wolves—dominating representations. Threatened species and those with declining populations are overrepresented, and strong regional and cultural differences shape which species are selected.

Sport organizations could leverage their wildlife branding to actively support conservation efforts while strengthening fan engagement and brand identity.

CITE: Arbieu, U., Bellard, C., Bradshaw, C. J., Correia, R., Courtois, P., Di Minin, E., Jarić, I., Murfree, J.R., Orr, M., Roturier, S., Sartore-Baldwin, M., Veríssimo, D., & Courchamp, F. (2026). Wildlife diversity in global team sport branding. BioScience, 76(2), 179-187. DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaf181

#Wildlife #Biodiversity #Nature #Conservation #Symbols #TeamIdentification