Kids and animals are a natural match, but researchers say the love youngsters have for animals may actually be clouding the public's mind about how endangered they are.

The study in the journal PLOS Biology lists what the authors say are the world's 10 most charismatic animals: tigers, lions, elephants, giraffes leopards, pandas, cheetahs, polar bears, gray wolves and gorillas.

They say the common appearance of these animals in cartoons, movies, and toys have led to what they call "virtual populations" -- people believe these animals are not at risk of extinction in the wild because they appear to be everywhere.

The study uses the popular French baby toy "Sophie the Giraffe" as an example. Eight-hundred thousand Sophie toys were sold in France in 2010 -- more than eight times the number of real giraffes living in Africa.

The authors recommend toy companies and anyone else who uses endangered species as trademarks donate some of their profits to wildlife conservation.

儿童喜爱动物看来理所当然，但是科研人员说，儿童对动物的喜爱实际上可能会淡化公众头脑中有关这些动物濒临灭绝的境地。

PLOS Biology杂志上刊登的研究列举了作者认为全世界最受人喜爱的动物：老虎、狮子、大象、长颈鹿、豹、熊猫、猎豹、北极熊、灰狼和大猩猩。

科研人员说，这些动物经常在漫画和电影中以及以玩具的形式出现，使人们产生了这些动物的“假象数量”。人们因为觉得这些动物随处可见，所以会认为它们在野生环境中没有灭绝的危险。

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