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Quick Take Research shows that wildlife is the most common theme when it comes to sports team mascots. The Wild League hopes to build a connection between sports fans and conservation . The Clemson Tigers college sports program is providing a great example of how animal mascots can make a difference.

If you’ve watched sports on even a casual basis, you’ve likely noticed a trend when it comes to the team names and mascots. Many sports mascots are wild animals, and sometimes endangered ones. It’s not uncommon to turn on any sporting event and see lions, eagles, tigers, and other exotic creatures grace your screen.

This commonality is not lost on many conservationists who believe that there is a way to turn sports fans into potential conservationists who want to help animals and the natural world. Some sports teams have already dipped their toes into the conservation waters, and as you’ll see, there’s more good news on the way. The Dominance of Animals as Sports Mascots As reported by Mongabay News, a new organization called The Wild League aims to connect sports with animal conservation.

The founder, Ugo Arbieu, a postdoctoral researcher at Paris-Saclay University in France, began to notice the trend of animal mascots and decided to look into the issue further. To do so, he and his team examined sports teams around the world, analyzing logos, fan nicknames, and team names with an eye toward trends. After analyzing 10 major sports teams across 50 countries, they identified 727 professional sports organizations that actively use wildlife iconography in their branding.