Looking for Visitor's Effect in Sanctuaries: Implications of Guided Visitor Groups on the Behavior of the Chimpanzees at Fundació Mona.

摘要: The question of ‘if and how captive primates are affected by visitors’ has gained increasing attention over the last decades. Although majority reported undesirable effects on behavior wellbeing, many studies contradicting results. Most these were conducted at zoos, typically with little or no control actions. Yet is known about impact under very controlled visitor conditions. In order to fill this gap, we study a primate sanctuary which allows public access only via guided visit strict supervision. We observed 14 chimpanzees, recording their during, after in absence visits 10-month period. Furthermore, categorized visitors regarding group size composition see if certain types would produce stronger chimpanzees’ behavior. As expected, found neutral behavior, detecting slight increase locomotion decrease inactivity during activities chimpanzees demonstrating more interest towards larger sized groups. argue that been greatly mitigated restrictions care strategies allowing visibility.