Beneath the umbrella: conservation out of the limelight

The concluding chapter of this book poses the question: what is special about the musteloids in the context of promoting their conservation. Ranking species on their public appeal, most musteloids score relatively poorly as ambassadors, or flagships, for conservation compared with, for example, big cats. There are individual exceptions (many of the otters, for example, and the endangered ‘celebrity’ species, such as black-footed ferrets or red pandas), and some have potential as umbrella species due to their range overlap with other threatened mammals. The chapter explores if and how musteloids contribute to ecosystem services, and thus their utility value, and assesses the potential for identifying priorities for conservation action (in terms of both priority species and priority countries). The conservation needs of musteloids are varied, and these are not the only important considerations, but they illustrate some of the complexity that is involved.