Woolway Eleanor E, Goodenough Anne E
School of Natural and Social Sciences, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, United Kingdom.
Zoo Biol. 2017 Mar;36(2):112-119. doi: 10.1002/zoo.21357. Epub 2017 Feb 21.
Visitors to zoological collections can have substantial effects on captive animals that vary according to species, enclosure design, visitor proximity, and husbandry methods. One particularly intense form of visitor interaction occurs in immersive exhibits such as walk-through enclosures. Such enclosures are increasingly common but effects on animal behavior are currently understudied. Here, the behavior of captive European red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) is studied in relation to visitor numbers in a walk-through enclosure. We also quantify the correlation between squirrel encounters and visitor experience. Interaction with humans increased significantly as the number of visitors inside the enclosure increased. The number of children present significantly increased locomotion and decreased eating, possibly due to disturbance and squirrels moving away from busy areas. By contrast, the number of adults significantly increased eating and decreased inactivity due to squirrels approaching visitors. The positive reinforcement training used by the keepers (offering food rewards to the squirrels for coming to them to allow routine medical checks) meant that squirrels associated adults with food opportunities. Squirrel encounter rate (number of squirrels seen by each group of visitors) was significantly affected by the number of adults and visitor duration (positive relationships) and noise as perceived by visitors (negative relationship). Encounter rate was positively correlated with overall visitor experience. Our results indicate that visitors affect behavior but this effect is influenced by husbandry methods. It is vital that visitors, especially children, minimize noise, and move slowly in the enclosure, both for the sake of the animals and their own experience.
动物园参观者会对圈养动物产生重大影响，这种影响因物种、圈舍设计、参观者距离和饲养方式而异。参观者与动物互动的一种特别强烈的形式发生在沉浸式展览中，比如可穿行的圈舍。这类圈舍越来越常见，但目前对其对动物行为的影响研究不足。在此，我们研究了圈养欧洲红松鼠（Sciurus vulgaris）在可穿行圈舍中的行为与参观者数量的关系。我们还量化了松鼠与参观者接触次数和参观者体验之间的相关性。随着圈舍内参观者数量的增加，松鼠与人类的互动显著增加。在场儿童的数量显著增加了松鼠的活动量，减少了其进食量，这可能是由于干扰以及松鼠远离繁忙区域所致。相比之下，成年参观者的数量显著增加了松鼠的进食量，减少了其不活动时间，因为松鼠会靠近参观者。饲养员采用的积极强化训练（给前来接受常规体检的松鼠提供食物奖励）意味着松鼠将成年参观者与获取食物的机会联系起来。松鼠的接触率（每组参观者看到的松鼠数量）受到成年参观者数量、参观者停留时间（正相关）以及参观者感知到的噪音（负相关）的显著影响。接触率与参观者的总体体验呈正相关。我们的结果表明，参观者会影响动物行为，但这种影响受到饲养方式的影响。至关重要的是，参观者，尤其是儿童，要尽量减少噪音，并在圈舍内缓慢移动，这既是为了动物，也是为了他们自身的体验。
