Television News Mentions And Web Searches For "Wildlife" Decreasing
This year's pandemic-driven rules around social distancing and the dangers of indoor proximity have prompted a newfound discussion of the benefits of nature and appreciation for the outdoors. Yet, as the timeline below shows, there were more mentions of the word "wildlife" a decade ago than there are today or over the past half decade. Of course, it could be that coverage today focuses on the specific animal being discussed, such as tigers or bobcats, rather than the literal term "wildlife", but the decrease in usage means we are no longer talking about the broad concept of "wildlife". Though, its worth noting that a spotcheck of a few animals like penguins, polar bears and cheetahs shows similar decreases.
Google Trends shows that US web searches for the literal term "wildlife" decreased steadily from 2004 through 2012 and have been flat ever since.
