Why do we like some animals and hate others?
CrowdScience
BBC
4.8 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 22 March 2019
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Cute isn't exactly a scientific term but we all know what we mean by it, don't we? Endearing, adorable, lovable and sweet. So what makes us fawn over a puppy, but run away from rats? Why do we spend millions on trying to keep Giant Pandas alive but spend even more on pushing endangered species like blue-fin Tuna to the brink of extinction by eating them? And if we changed what we classified as cute or ugly, how might that change the battle to protect the Earth's fragile biodiversity?
CrowdScience listener Oleksiy, from Ukraine, wanted to know if cuteness is universal and what drives it? Seeking the answers, Marnie Chesterton cuddles puppies and enters a cramped spider nursery, seeking the science of cute, and exploring the evolutionary reasons for fear and disgust.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producer: Rory Galloway
(Image: A cute and scary spider sitting on a green leaf. Credit: Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast and maybe it's when I had a hand in. |
| 0:04.0 | I'm Tammy Walker and I produce podcasts for the BBC. |
| 0:08.0 | My role is to give new and diverse creators a voice with the opportunity to build a career. |
| 0:12.0 | That's the thing I love about podcasts. |
| 0:14.4 | You start with just a good idea, but then you have the space to see where it goes. |
| 0:18.4 | And doing that at the BBC means we can really run with the best stories |
| 0:21.9 | while developing the most unique audio talent. |
| 0:24.3 | So if you like what you hear, why not check out the huge range of podcast we've got on BBC |
| 0:29.1 | Sounds. Jamie, come here. |
| 0:35.0 | come here. |
| 0:37.0 | This is crowd science from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:42.0 | I'm Marnie Chasterton and this is Jamie, a puppy. |
| 0:47.0 | He's soft and cute and adorable and I can't believe that playing with him is actually my job. |
| 0:52.0 | He came into us as a stray. I can't believe that playing with him is actually my job. |
| 0:52.8 | He came into us as a stray. |
| 0:55.0 | One of his legs is a little bit deformed. |
| 0:57.9 | So he's been cared for by our clinic team |
| 1:00.6 | who have been looking after him and bringing him back to health. |
| 1:04.0 | We are at Battersea Dogs and Cats home in London kind of sandwiched between a couple of railway tracks, as you hear and there are about 400 dogs here including |
| 1:16.5 | Jamie 12 weeks old three and a half legs and cute as a button. The reason I'm down at Bathsy Dogs home playing with |
| 1:26.4 | Jamie is because if Jamie was a spider I think I probably wouldn't have the same |
| 1:31.2 | rush of affection and that is something that one of our |
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