The United Nations (UN) World Wildlife Day takes place every year on 3 March. Organisations around the globe take part and raise awareness of issues affecting wildlife and their habitats. Each year, the UN chooses a theme to highlight a certain problem, or specific actions we can take to support the natural world.
In 2025, the theme is “Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet”. So, it’s the perfect time to consider the relationship between your wealth and the natural world.
Here are three important financial planning lessons you can learn from the animal kingdom on World Wildlife Day.
1. Rabbits and the power of compounding
Rabbits are known for their rapid breeding habits as they can produce many offspring in a short period of time. This is because rabbits reach maturity very quickly and have short pregnancies of around a month.
According to the RSPCA, the average litter contains five to eight baby rabbits. They can also become pregnant again soon after giving birth, meaning rabbits can have an average of 30 babies in a single mating season.
It won’t be long before these rabbits reproduce, and each have their own litter too. So, during the following mating season, the original rabbit might have another 30 babies. Yet, their offspring from the previous year might all have 30 of their own too, making a total of 930 baby rabbits.
The following year, those 930 rabbits could all reproduce too, and so the population begins to snowball. This is a prime example of the compounding effect, which can be very powerful when trying to grow your wealth.
Now, imagine you had £10,000, which you put in a savings account with an interest rate of 5%. A year later, you’d have £10,500.
If you left your savings in the same account for another year, you would generate an additional 5% interest on your original £10,000. However, you also see growth on the £500 interest from the previous year, just as the baby rabbits eventually go on to have offspring of their own.
This means the interest you receive would increase from £500 to £525, giving you a total of £11,025. This effect would continue year on year, and the interest you receive would snowball.
By saving and investing as early as possible, you can benefit from this compounding effect and your wealth will expand like a family of rabbits.
2. Tortoises and the value of a slow approach to investing
The tortoise is known for being a gentle animal with a very leisurely attitude, and it could teach you a lot about investing for the future.
Instead of rushing through life, a tortoise moves incredibly slowly. According to BBC Wildlife Magazine, this gentle pace of life is mirrored by a slow metabolism, which results in a more gradual buildup of toxic chemicals and mutations.
In other words, tortoises can easily live beyond 100 because, by slowing down, they reduce the level of danger they’re exposed to. The value of this steady approach is captured in the famous fable of the race between the tortoise and the hare.
The hare sets off at breakneck speed and takes an early lead, just as you might see rapid growth in a short space of time if you opt for high-risk investments. But the hare’s lead is short-lived as he runs out of energy. This mirrors a potential fall in the value of your investments as you experience a period of volatility.
Meanwhile, the tortoise is ticking along, making gradual progress towards the finish line. He’s unlikely to run out of steam as he isn’t stretching himself too far, meaning he ultimately wins the race.
You may find that you have more financial longevity if you take a slower approach too. High-risk investments might generate growth quickly, seemingly moving you towards your financial goals faster. Yet, you may be more likely to experience significant losses that ultimately make it more difficult to achieve your dream lifestyle.
In comparison, a well-balanced portfolio could generate steady growth with less risk. Provided you take a long-term approach, you can move consistently towards your goals at a more measured pace, just as the tortoise does.
3. Cats and the benefits of doing nothing
Cats are notoriously lazy pets who love nothing more than finding a warm spot to curl up and go to sleep. In fact, adult cats can sleep anywhere from 12 to 20 hours a day.
However, even though they’re sleeping, cats still have a strong awareness of the world around them. They have excellent hearing, and their ears will prick up at the slightest sound. If they need to, they’ll wake up and jump into action right away.
If you’re the kind of investor that likes to check their portfolio daily, you might want to emulate our feline friends.
Constantly checking your investment performance, especially if you’re building wealth in the long term, can be harmful. Short-term movements shouldn’t really be a concern if you plan to leave your wealth invested for decades as you give the markets time to recover, so your investments continue growing. Yet, you’re only human and if you see that your portfolio has dropped in value, you may panic.
This may cause you to make rushed decisions and change your investment strategy unnecessarily. In some cases, this could harm your returns.
Naturally, there are some situations when you might need to adjust your investment strategy, so you don’t want to ignore your portfolio altogether. Taking inspiration from cats and embracing the benefits of doing nothing most of the time, while also maintaining a general level of awareness, could help you find the perfect balance.
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We can help you put these lessons into practice when it comes to your own financial plan.
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Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.
The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.