Sharks aren’t exactly cuddly, but they’re not the villains that movies and nature documentaries make them out to be. And while portraying sharks as frightening predators might imbue otherwise dry nature documentaries with a bit more drama, scientists are worried that these kinds of negative portrayals might hurt conservation efforts. In a recent study published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers found that even the ominous music used to underscore shark scenes in nature documentaries may subtly affect viewers’s perceptions of sharks.
via Mental Floss
