Animal-named businesses are low-cost, accessible indicators of wildlife socio-cultural value

Wildlife not only play a pivotal role in providing irreplaceable ecosystem services but also hold immense sociocultural value for communities by shaping cultural identities and fostering human connections with the natural world. However, quantifying the socio-cultural value of wildlife is challenging and typically relies on targeted participant-based interviews or questionnaires. This study explores an alternative approach by analyzing animalnamed businesses as indicators of wildlife socio-cultural value. As a case study, all 4,767 animal-named businesses in New Zealand (excluding animal-focused businesses like veterinarians) were compiled. Analyses of these businesses confirmed that socio-cultural values are conveyed through businesses names including personal connections to animals and cultural reverence. Furthermore, significant geographic animal-region associations were identified, revealing spatial patterns in socio-cultural values. Overall, the analysis of animal-named businesses provides a scalable, widely-accessible, cost-effective method to explore socio-cultural value and uncovers connections that can be used to support management efforts and target further research.