A first ever visit to the Lake Superior Zoo for Dr. Cameron Whitley, a conservation researcher. And he’s having a great time.

He’s working with a National Science Foundation grant to study what kind of images work best to promote empathy for animals and more conservation.

“Since the 1970s, we’ve lost 68% of our biodiversity. Thinking about how we connect people with animals is becoming critically important,” he shared. “Historically, conservation hasn’t been a very diverse world.”

On Wednesday and Thursday, he asked people at the zoo what they thought of a series of images. They are more like portraits, with the animals looking directly at the camera, versus other kinds of nature photography.

He’ll be back eventually to discuss more about conservation efforts.

For more info about Dr. Whitley’s work: https://cameronwhitley.weebly.com/