Skibins Jeffrey C, Powell Robert B
Department of Recreation, Sport, and Tourism Management, University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois.
Zoo Biol. 2013 Sep-Oct;32(5):528-40. doi: 10.1002/zoo.21086. Epub 2013 Jul 22.
Zoos in the 21st century are striving to make effective contributions to conservation. Although zoos are extremely popular and host over 600 million visitors worldwide, one challenge zoos face is how to effectively engage visitors and raise awareness and action for conservation. To this end, zoos commonly rely on charismatic megafauna, which have been shown to elicit a connection with zoo visitors. However, little is known about how to measure a connection to a species or how this connection may influence conservation behaviors. This study had two sequential objectives. The first was to develop a scale to measure visitors' connection to a species (Conservation Caring). The second was to investigate the relationship of Conservation Caring to pro-conservation behaviors, following a zoo experience. Pre- (n = 411) and post-visit (n = 452) responses were collected from three sites in order to assess the reliability and validity of a scale to measure Conservation Caring. Structural equation modeling was used to explore the relationship between Conservation Caring and pro-conservation behaviors. Conservation Caring was deemed a valid and reliable scale and was a strong predictor of species oriented behaviors (β = 0.62), for example, "adopting" an animal, but a weak predictor for biodiversity oriented behaviors (β = 0.07), for example, supporting sustainability policies. Results support the role zoos can play in fostering a connection to wildlife and stimulating pro-conservation behaviors. Additionally, visitors connected to a wide array of animals. On the basis of these results, zoos may recruit a wider assemblage of species as potential flagships.
21世纪的动物园正努力为保护工作做出切实贡献。尽管动物园极受欢迎，全球年游客量超过6亿人次，但动物园面临的一个挑战是如何有效地吸引游客，并提高他们对保护工作的认识以及促使他们采取保护行动。为此，动物园通常依赖具有超凡魅力的大型动物，这些动物已被证明能与动物园游客建立起情感联系。然而，对于如何衡量与一个物种的情感联系，以及这种联系如何影响保护行为，我们却知之甚少。本研究有两个相继的目标。第一个目标是开发一个量表来衡量游客与一个物种的情感联系（保护关怀）。第二个目标是在一次动物园参观体验之后，调查保护关怀与支持保护行为之间的关系。为了评估用于衡量保护关怀的量表的信效度，我们从三个地点收集了参观前（n = 411）和参观后（n = 452）的反馈。我们使用结构方程模型来探究保护关怀与支持保护行为之间的关系。保护关怀被认为是一个有效且可靠的量表，并且是物种导向行为（β = 0.62）的有力预测指标，例如“认养”一只动物，但对于生物多样性导向行为（β = 0.07），例如支持可持续发展政策，则是一个较弱的预测指标。研究结果支持了动物园在促进与野生动物的情感联系以及激发支持保护行为方面所能发挥的作用。此外，游客与各种各样的动物都建立了情感联系。基于这些结果，动物园可以招募更多种类的物种作为潜在的旗舰物种。
