Zhou Zhiqiang, Jiao Ran, Hu Huijian, Khan Tauheed Ullah
College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
Guangzhou Municipal Group Design Institute Co., Ltd., Guangzhou 510095, China.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Feb 27;15(5):700. doi: 10.3390/ani15050700.
Zoos play dual roles in wildlife conservation and in providing recreational experiences for visitors in urban green spaces. However, the impacts of thermal environments on both visitor comfort and captive animal welfare remain unexplored, which is an important aspect to address for improving overall zoo management. This study investigated thermal conditions at Jinan Zoo, China, over 20 summer days. Questionnaires were used to collect visitor thermal comfort and viewing satisfaction, while the thermal mitigation behaviors of 70 blue peafowls were recorded under various thermal conditions on-site. The findings showed that the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) neutral range for visitors was 20.1-24.4 °C, with a significant drop in visitor numbers when WBGT exceeded 35.5 °C. Visitors with higher animal viewing satisfaction (aVSV) scores were more heat tolerant. The blue peafowls reduced their activity levels and displayed feather-spreading and gular flutter at WBGT levels of 26.4-30.4 °C, especially during peak visitor hours. Our study also showed that visitor thermal sensation was most affected by radiation, whereas blue peafowl heat stress was likely influenced by air temperature, followed by humidity and radiation. These findings offer practical insights for designing zoo enclosures and visitor areas to improve comfort and animal welfare in hot weather.
动物园在野生动物保护以及为城市绿地中的游客提供娱乐体验方面发挥着双重作用。然而，热环境对游客舒适度和圈养动物福利的影响仍未得到探索，这是改善动物园整体管理需要解决的一个重要方面。本研究调查了中国济南动物园在20个夏日的热状况。通过问卷调查收集游客的热舒适度和观赏满意度，同时在现场不同热条件下记录了70只蓝孔雀的热缓解行为。研究结果表明，游客的湿球黑球温度（WBGT）舒适范围为20.1-24.4°C，当WBGT超过35.5°C时，游客数量显著下降。动物观赏满意度（aVSV）得分较高的游客更耐热。在WBGT为26.4-30.4°C时，蓝孔雀会降低活动水平，并表现出展开羽毛和喉部颤动的行为，尤其是在游客高峰时段。我们的研究还表明，游客的热感觉受辐射影响最大，而蓝孔雀的热应激可能受气温影响，其次是湿度和辐射。这些研究结果为设计动物园围栏和游客区域提供了实用的见解，以在炎热天气中提高舒适度和动物福利。
