Zoo visitor effect on mammal behaviour : does noise matter?

Quadros, S; Goulart, VDLR; Passos, L; Vecci, M; Young, RJ

Abstract

The zoo visitor effect is the change in animal behaviour and physiology in response to the
presence of a viewing public. It is thought to result from, amongst other things, visitor generated
sound (i.e., noise), but this hypothesis has never been explicitly tested. We tested
this hypothesis through observations on the behaviour and enclosure use of 12 mammal
species held in 12 separate enclosures at the Belo Horizonte Zoo when exposed to different
sound pressure levels (i.e., noise) from the visiting public. Noise pollution levels were significantly
higher with the public present and increased with increasing audience size. Species
that are more popular suffered greater noise pollution from the zoo visitors. No overall
effects on behaviour were found in relation to noise levels, however, analysis of behaviour
at the individual level found some significant differences. Notably, half of the individuals
increased their vigilance behaviour with increasing sound levels and approximately one third
of individuals increased their movements. These results show that zoo visitors have
a negative welfare impact on individual zoo-housed mammals, especially groups of noisy
visitors where levels were recorded outside of the recommended limits for human wellbeing
(>70 dB(A)). Thus, zoos need to address this issue, probably, through a combination
of visitor education campaigns and acoustic modification to enclosures.

Citation

Quadros, S., Goulart, V., Passos, L., Vecci, M., & Young, R. (2014). Zoo visitor effect on mammal behaviour : does noise matter?. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 156, 78-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2014.04.002

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 15, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Apr 29, 2014
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Jan 20, 2015
• Journal: Applied Animal Behaviour Science
• Print ISSN: 0168-1591
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 156
• Pages: 78-84
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2014.04.002
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2014.04.002
• Related Public URLs: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/applied-animal-behaviour-science/
• Additional Information: Funders : CAPES;FAPEMIG;CNPq;PPM; Grant Number: 1213-13-0; Grant Number: 6060-13-7; Grant Number: 303888/2012-1; Grant Number: 00368_11