Primary school students’ awareness of and attitudes toward local threatened animals

Human actions threaten animal species with extinction at an accelerating rate. Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) is a key factor in tackling biodiversity loss by preparing future citizens to undertake conservation actions. This study deals with the awareness and the attitudes of 401 primary school students toward wild animals, focusing on local threatened species. Although students appear to have a satisfactory level of awareness of wild animals, they are significantly less aware of local species and confused regarding threatened ones. Bird species gain the lowest recognition. Habitat transformation and climate change are not well-known threats. Students have primarily naturalistic, and ecologistic attitudes. They like animals mainly due to their perceived appearance, intelligence and being in danger of extinction, while they dislike them based on the threat they pose to humans and other animals. The findings can inspire ESE practitioners to develop effective educational programs for wild animal conservation. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC