Visitors' effects on the welfare of animals in the zoo: a review.

摘要: Since the 1970s, research about zoo visitors' effects on welfare of nonhuman animals in captivity has intensified. Numerous studies have shown that characteristics such as visitor presence, density, activity, size, and position are associated with animal behavioral and--to a lesser extent physiological--changes. Studies usually interpret these changes negative (undesirable) or positive (enriching), but it remains unclear whether they significantly impinge welfare. To make confident conclusions necessitates more using (a) wider range groupings, (b) measures stress, (c) visitor-animal variables, (d) other methodological improvements In meantime, addition to further research, individual zoos need emphasize monitoring stress indicators their captive animals, observing behavior, ensuring staffs aware "visitor effect" concept.