By Steve Lemeshko

Capuchin monkey behind the bars. Credit: Wayne S. Grazio, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Environmental education centers like zoos, aquariums, and museums have a unique role in fostering empathy for animals, which can, in turn, inspire conservation action. For example, research has found that zoos can contribute to increased wildlife conservation attitudes among visitors.

In “Empathy for Animals: A Review of the Existing Literature” (2018), Ashley Young, Kathayoon A. Khalil, and Jim Wharton explore the dimensions of animal empathy—a capacity to perceive, understand, and care about others—as an internal motivator that can promote compassionate action. They identify two types of empathy:

Affective empathy is experiencing the emotions of others as if they were your own, i.e., being in others’ shoes.
Cognitive empathy is using knowledge to contextualize empathy and to avoid extrapolating human experiences and emotions onto animals with fundamentally different lives (such as projecting our social tendencies toward animals that prefer to live alone). Also, without cognitive empathy, it becomes challenging, if not impossible, to empathize with creatures vastly different from humans, like sponges or barnacles.

When participants take the perspective of an animal and empathize with them, they are more likely to take on pro-empathetic views. Environmental centers can spark empathy and, thus, encourage conservation activities.

A debatable yet significant element in developing animal empathy is anthropomorphism—attributing human characteristics to animals. While it can be a useful introduction tool for animal empathy, it also risks misrepresenting animal experiences, potentially leading to harm to both animals and humans. For example, anthropomorphism may result in attempts to “rescue” animals that do not need saving.

Effective anthropomorphism relies on cognitive empathy to introduce nuance and preserve the balance between similarity and difference. Simplistic projections of human emotions onto animals can cause harm, while viewing animals as unknowable "others" can lead to numbness to their experiences and suffering. The middle ground—acknowledging animals as similar yet distinct—is key to what Young et al. call accurate empathy. Below is the graphic from the "Best Practices in Developing Empathy toward Wildlife" (2019) by the Seattle Aquarium which illustrates this nuanced approach through the anthropomorphism spectrum:

Anthropomorphism spectrum. Credit: (Seattle Aquarium).

The same Seattle Aquarium report outlines six strategies to foster empathy for wildlife when talking about animals:

Framing – The language we use matters. Referring to animals as "he" or "she" humanizes them and allows for inclusivity. Similarly, narrating animal stories can either encourage empathy or reduce animals to mere biological examples. Educators should frame animals as unique individuals with distinct personalities and experiences.
Modeling – Childhood role models significantly influence environmental values in adulthood. While zoos and aquariums have limited time to build such relationships, engaging and empowering parents and caregivers to model ways of interacting, as well as curiosity and compassion toward animals, can have lasting impacts.
Increasing knowledge – First, understanding our own emotions helps us relate to others. Second, sharing information about animals’ needs, behaviors, and experiences helps improve the capacity for empathy. Conversations that compare and contrast humans and animals can deepen emotional connections.
Providing experiences – Interacting with nature and animals has been shown to correlate with increased care for the environment. More powerful interactions are associated with more naturalistic behavior. Therefore, deeper connections can happen when animals are allowed agency during interactions.
Practice – Opportunities to practice empathy, coupled with positive reinforcement, build self-efficacy—confidence in empathetic behaviors. By providing care for animals, individuals have to consider what the animal might be feeling or needing. In essence, they observe and practice empathy.
Imagination – Perspective-taking, i.e., cognitively taking the perspective of others and visualizing their experiences, encourages creative thinking and emotional connection. Practices like mimicry, role-playing, and storytelling (narrative empathy) allow us to step into their world and develop empathy.

That said, zoos and similar institutions are inherently limited in the emotions they can evoke because of the unnatural settings and power dynamics between humans and animals. These are not one-size-fits-all solutions. Captive environments differ drastically from animals’ natural habitats, and some institutions—like SeaWorld imprisoning orcas—cause more harm than good.

However, not all institutions are as harmful as SeaWorld. Some prioritize animal well-being and adopt practices that genuinely support conservation. To make a meaningful impact, though, these institutions must cultivate profound respect for animals' autonomy and well-being. Empathy thus becomes both a cornerstone of compassionate conservation and a call to action.

As we reconsider our relationship with nature, we must ask: How can we move to meaningful connections with wildlife? Empathy might hold an answer. By encouraging the development of accurate and compassionate empathy, we can build a path toward coexistence and conservation.

The full citations of the article and report are:

Seattle Aquarium. Best Practices in Developing Empathy Toward Wildlife. 2019, https://archive.informalscience.org/sites/default/files/Best%20Practices%20Briefing%202019%20FINAL.pdf.

Young, Ashley, et al. “Empathy for Animals: A Review of the Existing Literature.” Curator the Museum Journal, vol. 61, no. 2, Apr. 2018, pp. 327–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/cura.12257.

For further reading, see the following articles:

Ethics, Compassion, and Captivity of Cetaceans / January 9, 2025

Northern Spotted Owl vs. Barred Owl: The Ethical Conundrum of Compassionate Conservation / November 7, 2024

Communicating Trans-Species Empathy: An Interview with Amy Donovan / March 18, 2022

Empathy for Captive Wildlife in Zoos and Aquariums