A flagship species is a creature that serves as the “face” of a conservation campaign. Typically, these are large, charismatic mammals like the giant panda or tiger. Getting the public invested in the survival of a single flagship species can help preserve that creature’s habitat — and save many smaller and less charismatic creatures in the process.
But recently, many conservationists have expanded the flagship species they use to include stranger, lesser-known — and less hairy — species, including insects and snakes. One example, featured in the Wild Hope episode Rise of the Reptiles, is the indigo snake: a large, beautiful, and docile ambassador species for longleaf pine forests in the southeastern United States.