Year: 2007
Type: dissertation
Abstract: There is evidence that the presence of the visiting public affects the \nbehaviour of zoo-housed mammals. Understanding the effect of visitors is \nimportant in improving animal welfare, achieving zoo conservation goals, \nincreasing visitor education/entertainment, and facilitating interpretation of data \non zoo animal biology. A series of studies and experiments focusing on the effect \nof zoo visitors on captive mammal behaviour is presented. The influence of \nvisitor density on a range of primates and large carnivores is examined. \nMethodological concerns regarding the operational definition of visitor density in \nthe literature are expressed and a clarification of terms which may be helpful \nwhen comparing previous research is provided. Visitor noise data, using an \nobjective measure of the variable, and its relationship to visitor density are also \npresented. \nExternal and internal visual barriers between visitors and zoo animals were \nhypothesised to moderate the visitor effect and enrich the environment of the \nstudy groups. Camouflage nets mounted on the outside of enclosure viewing \nwindows had little impact on primate or felid behaviour, with the exception of the \nSumatran orangutan group, who showed a trend toward decreased social play in \nthe presence of the external barrier. Polar bear behaviour showed evidence of an \nenriched environment, with trends toward increased levels of swimming and \ndecreased levels of resting. An internal visual barrier, which prevented visitors \nfrom having visual contact with the golden lion tamarins when the nonhuman \nprimates were behind it, was also tested and elicited more extensive trends toward \nbehavioural change than did the nets. \nBoth Sumatran orangutans and zoo visitors were provided with a similar \npuzzle feeder in an effort to enrich the orangutan enclosure, and improve the \nvisitor experience. It was hypothesised that the orangutans might be stimulated \nby watching visitors manipulate the device, but this did not occur. Orangutan use \nof the puzzle feeder within their enclosure was also unaffected. \nOlfactory stimuli were introduced into primate and felid enclosures and \nvisitor viewing areas to investigate the role olfaction may play in the visitor effect. \nAlthough olfactory stimuli had an extensive significant effect on the behaviour of \nthe study groups when it was introduced into the enclosure, there was little change \nwhen visitors were associated with the olfactory stimuli which suggest there may \nnot be an olfactory visitor effect in primates or felids. \nThe effect of visitors on petting zoo-housed mixed-breed goats, llama, and \nVietnamese pot-bellied pigs was studied and compared to their behaviour without \nthe presence of visitors. The goats were unaffected and the llama showed only a \ntrend toward decreased levels of sitting in the presence of visitors. The \nVietnamese pot-bellied pigs were significantly affected by the presence of \nvisitors, exhibiting decreased inactivity and social behaviour. The hypothesis that \na sustained absence of visitors would result in a more intense visitor effect was \ntested and was not supported by the data. An additional experiment investigating \nthe effect of visitor grooming on the petting zoo study species showed that, while \nvisitors spent more time interacting with the animals in the grooming condition, \nxiv \nthe behaviour of the study animals indicated that they did not find visitor \ngrooming rewarding. \nData on the interaction between visitor density and the various \nexperimental techniques tested here indicate that visitor density may impact \nanimal response to environmental enrichment, supporting previous findings in the \nliterature. In the presence of visual barriers, foraging devices, and olfactory \nstimuli, the relationship between animal behaviour and visitor density changed \nsignificantly, both qualitatively and quantitatively. These results suggest that \ncollecting visitor density data when testing environmental enrichment techniques \ncould be helpful when assessing their effectiveness, ultimately improving the \nwelfare of zoo-housed mammals. Based on the data presented here, in \nconjunction with the literature, a closing discussion outlines proposed refinements \nto the visitor effect research guidelines published by the British and Irish \nAssociation of Zoos and Aquariums (2005).
Author: Alexandra Farrand
Language: English
Subfield: Animal Science and Zoology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W565660552