Mandai Wildlife Group, Singapore, Singapore.
School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
Zoo Biol. 2023 May-Jun;42(3):407-415. doi: 10.1002/zoo.21766. Epub 2023 Apr 10.
Many zoos favor the use of signage to encourage learning and positive visitor experiences as well as discourage negative behaviors by visitors because of its simplicity, relatively low maintenance needed, and low cost. However, current literature suggests that conventional signage has limited impact on visitors in zoos. This study hypothesized that visitors would be less likely to exhibit negative behaviors (e.g., feeding and touching) in the presence of uniformed staff compared to signage. The study was conducted twice a day over 4 weeks with one condition per week (Baseline, Signage, Staff, and Signage + Staff). The total number of visitors and the frequency of negative visitor behaviors were observed. These behaviors reduced from 14.0% (Baseline; no signage and no staff) and 13.1% (Signage), to 4.8% (Staff) and 6.1% (Signage + Staff). Both the Staff and Signage + Staff conditions were significantly lower than the Baseline and Signage conditions. However, signage alone did not significantly differ from the baseline condition, when no intervention was implemented, and staff and signage together did not significantly differ from staff alone. This was also observed in both negative visual behaviors and negative tactile behaviors from visitors. The results suggest that methods other than signage may be more effective at reducing undesired visitor behaviors. This study could guide the design of future signage or even potentially encourage zoos to reduce reliance on signs and employ other strategies.
许多动物园都倾向于使用标识牌来鼓励学习和积极的游客体验，同时防止游客的不良行为，因为标识牌具有简单、相对较低的维护需求和低成本等特点。然而，目前的文献表明，传统的标识牌对动物园游客的影响有限。本研究假设，与标识牌相比，穿着制服的工作人员在场时，游客不太可能表现出不良行为（例如，喂食和触摸）。这项研究在四周内每天进行两次，每周进行一种条件（基线、标识牌、工作人员和标识牌+工作人员）。观察游客总数和负面游客行为的频率。这些行为从 14.0%（基线；没有标识牌和工作人员）和 13.1%（标识牌）减少到 4.8%（工作人员）和 6.1%（标识牌+工作人员）。工作人员和标识牌+工作人员两种条件都显著低于基线和标识牌条件。然而，当没有实施干预措施时，仅标识牌与基线条件没有显著差异，而工作人员和标识牌一起与工作人员单独也没有显著差异。这在游客的负面视觉行为和负面触觉行为中都得到了观察。研究结果表明，除了标识牌之外，其他方法可能更有效地减少游客的不良行为。本研究可以为未来标识牌的设计提供指导，甚至可能鼓励动物园减少对标识牌的依赖，采用其他策略。
