Informing or Influencing? A Content Analysis of Wildlife Feeding Deterrence Messages in U.S. National Park Communications

United States (U.S.) national parks utilize various forms of media to deter the visitors from feeding wildlife. Understanding communication strategies used within these media is important for evaluating message efficacy yet remains understudied. In this study, we examined the presence and frequency of rational, emotional (i.e., responsibility, fear, guilt, shame, humor, pride, anger, kinship), and normative (subjective, descriptive, prescriptive, personal, and proscriptive norms) appeals, along with the framing of feeding consequences (e.g., wildlife or visitor health and safety) and behavior (i.e., preventative versus promotion) through a content analysis of materials used to communicate with visitors (N = 232) from nine U.S. national parks. We found that many materials mirrored the traditional ethic of interpretation and park stewardship with responsibility and rational appeals and wildlife centered messaging. Based on these findings, practitioners are encouraged to explore integrating messages personalized to visitor experience into current strategy and testing efficacy of current strategies.