Vicky Melfi

Animal-visitor interactions are common in captive-wildlife tourism settings, but there is a lack of research exploring what is on offer. This study defines and examines ‘Meet & Greet’ animal experiences in UK zoos within the context of the wider wildlife tourism industry, considering the differences between semi-contrived and fully-contrived interactions. From quantitatively analysing the websites of members of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the results show that Meet & Greets are frequently offered by zoos in the UK, but that these zoos do not always explicitly describe what the interaction involves. We propose that there is a need for more research on the impact of Meet & Greets, particularly looking at how zoos advertise these experiences and how they are perceived by potential participants, as there is a danger that accredited zoos could inadvertently be promoting the exploitation of animals for photo prop opportunities in other tourist settings.

Keeper‐animal relationships (KARs) appear to be important in zoos, since they can enhance the well‐being of both the animals and the keepers, can make animal husbandry easier, but conversely might risk inappropriate habituation of animals and possible risks to the safety of keepers. It is, therefore, important to know more about the variables involved in relationship formation. Here we use a modified version of the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS) to measure the strength of KARs between keepers and animals in their care, both in the zoo and in the home. LAPS questionnaires were completed by 187 keepers in 19 different collections across three countries. LAPS scores for attachment to zoo animals (ZA) were significantly lower than for pet animals (PA). There was no significant difference in ZA scores between different taxa, but there were significant taxon differences between PA scores. There were significant differences in both ZA and PA scores between different collections. Female respondents scored more highly than males for both ZA and PA. Multiple regression revealed that location, gender, and time spent with animals were significant predictors for ZA, while only gender and taxon were significant predictors for PA. It was concluded that PA scores were comparable with those for the general public, and reflected strong attachment of keepers to their pets, while ZA scores, although also reflecting attachment, were influenced by differences in institutional culture.

Behaviour problems are a leading reason for dogs being relinquished to rescue centres across the world every year. The aim of this study was to investigate whether free behavioural advice would be accepted at the point of an owner requesting to relinquish their dog for behavioural reasons. The call records of 1131 relinquishment requests were reviewed and analysed to establish if the offer of free behaviour advice was accepted. The results showed that advice was accepted in 24.4% of relinquishment requests and behavioural problem was a significant predictor of whether advice was accepted (p < 0.001). The odds of advice being accepted were 5.755 times (95% CI: 2.835–11.681; p < 0.001) greater for a relinquishment request due to problems with general management behaviours compared to aggression between dogs in the home, representing 4.2% and 20.2% of overall relinquishment requests. These data suggest that owners are prepared to accept behaviour advice at the point of relinquishment request, so advice interventions could have potential to impact the levels of dog relinquishment to rescue centres. The impact of an intervention offering behaviour advice may be limited by overall levels of advice acceptance by owners and therefore complimentary proactive solutions to reduce behavioural relinquishments should also be considered.

The bushmeat trade, or the trade in wild animals for meat, is a primary threat to wildlife and ecosystems in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Hunting for trade and consumption can hasten the local extirpation of vulnerable species, such as fruit bats and the protected babirusa and Sulawesi crested black macaque. This study provides a much‐needed step in understanding the bushmeat trade by describing longitudinal trends in the amount of bushmeat (animal carcasses) observed for sale in markets in North Sulawesi, a particularly biodiversity‐rich area. Surveys were conducted in 10 markets in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2019. At each market, total counts of all taxa for sale were noted, and encounter rates per market sample were derived to account for variable sampling effort across years and markets. Generalized Linear Mixed Models were used to compare encounter rates across years, months and markets. Our results show that although animal carcasses are still sold in high numbers, there has been an overall decrease between 2011 and 2019, particularly between 2011 and 2018 (encounter rate fell by 99%). However, bats, rats and Sulawesi warty pigs were still present at high levels, indicating a persistent demand for bushmeat in North Sulawesi. The encounter rate of protected taxa for sale was low, but steady throughout the study period. We identified which markets sold the greatest amount of bushmeat to inform future conservation actions and management. Based on our results, the persistent demand for bushmeat in the region, and the continued presence of protected taxa in the markets, we recommend further research to establish the sustainability of the bushmeat trade at its current rate.

Free-range exhibits are used by zoos to allow visitors to experience or interact with animals in a semi-natural setting; close interactions with animals have been shown to increase empathy and contribute to conservation outcomes, and as such zoos are increasingly implementing free-range style exhibits to facilitate this goal. We aimed to investigate whether this close proximity to zoo visitors impacted upon four species of macropod (red kangaroo Macropus rufus, red-necked wallaby Macropus rufogriseus, swamp wallaby Wallabia bicolor, and quokka Setonix brachyurus) in a free-range exhibit in an Australian zoo. Specifically, we used instantaneous scan sampling to assess animal behavior and examined whether visitor number affected the proportion of individuals that exhibited four target behaviors; visitor-directed vigilance, retreat, resting, and foraging behavior. We found that the proportion of individuals exhibiting visitor-directed vigilance significantly increased as pedestrian visitor number increased for three of the four species, and the proportion of individuals that were resting was significantly negatively related to visitor number for both wallaby species. The proportion of individuals of each species foraging or retreating was unrelated to visitor number. These data suggest that a visitor effect exists in a walk-through exhibit of macropods, and once visitor numbers go beyond a threshold, the behavior of more animals is impacted, likely compromising welfare. Interestingly, quokka do not appear to be affected by zoo visitors; which may be due to visitor pressure being perceived differently due to evolutionary differences, or that housing and husbandry ameliorate the visitor effect for this species but not others. Like many studies before, taking a species-specific approach to understanding zoo visitor–animal interactions has determined how the visitor effect likely impacts macropods differently.

Little penguins ( Eudyptula minor ), or Kororā in Māori, show variation in their behavioural responses towards zoo visitors in Australian zoos. We experimentally examined the effects of visitor presence on the behaviour and stress physiology of little penguins at Wellington Zoo, New Zealand. The two treatments were: (1) Visitor presence – the exhibit was open to visitors; and (2) Visitor absence – the exhibit was closed to visitors. We found that when the exhibit was closed to visitors, the percentage of penguins observed close to the visitor viewing pier increased from about 1% to 9%, but there was little effect on other behaviours and faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations. This result of increased avoidance of the visitor viewing pier when the exhibit was open to visitors suggests close visitor contact, particularly from above, may be fear‐provoking for these penguins. We conclude that designing enclosures to allow close viewing proximity of visitors, such as visitors looming over the pool, may be futile in improving visitor experience, since this species of penguins is likely to avoid these types of viewing areas when visitors are present. Visitors positioned close to and above penguins may be particularly problematic since visitors in this position may be perceived as threatening.

Studies on the effects of visitors on zoo animals have shown mixed findings and as a result, the manner in which visitors affect zoo animals remains unclear for many species, including a rarely studied taxa such as penguins. Penguins are a common zoo-housed species and have been shown to display huddling, vigilance and avoidance towards zoo visitors which can be indicative of fear. Here, we examined the effects of covering one visitor viewing area window, out of four, on little penguin (Eudyptula minor) behaviours that may be indicative of fear. Two treatments were randomly imposed on different days: (1) The main visitor viewing area window, where most visitor-penguin interactions occurred, was uncovered (‘Main window uncovered’) and (2) The main visitor viewing area window was covered (‘Main window covered’). Penguin numbers and behaviour were recorded near the main visitor viewing area window and the three other visitor viewing area windows, as well as one area not visible to visitors (‘Corner’ area). Furthermore, visitor numbers and visitor behaviour were recorded at all four visitor viewing area windows. Covering the main visitor viewing area window reduced the proportion of visitors present at this window by about 85% (p < 0.001) and reduced potentially threatening visitor behaviours at this window such as tactile contact with the window, loud vocalisations and sudden movement (p < 0.05). When the main visitor viewing area window was covered, the proportion of penguins present increased by about 25% (p < 0.05), the proportion of visible penguins preening in the water increased by about 180% (p < 0.05) and the proportion of visible penguins vigilant decreased by about 70% (p < 0.05) in the area near this main window. A preference for the Corner area was also found whereby 59% and 49% of penguins were present in this area when the main window was uncovered and covered, respectively. These results provide limited evidence that the little penguins in this exhibit showed an aversion to the area near the main visitor viewing area window when it was uncovered based on the increased avoidance and vigilance and decreased preening in the water in this area. This suggests visitors may be fear-provoking for these little penguins. However, it is unclear whether visual contact with visitors per se or other aspects of visitor contact, such as visitor-induced sounds and vibrations, were responsible for this apparent aversion when this window was uncovered.

The serval (Leptailurus serval) is a small African felid that is well represented in zoos and often serves as an animal ambassador in encounter programs with zoo visitors. The impact on serval welfare in relation to such programs has not been investigated to date, and the aim of this study was to assess short-term welfare effects of varying levels of visitor interaction in two captive servals. Weekly blocks of four different treatments were imposed three times on each animal over 12 weeks, and the treatments involved (1) Presentations (serval undertaking a routine training session in a designated presentation space, typically attracting high visitor numbers), (2) Behind-the-scenes (BTS, a close encounter allowing a small group of visitors to interact closely with the cat in its enclosure), (3) Presentations and BTS combined, and (4) No visitor interaction. Serval activity budgets as well as behavioural diversity were created from behaviours observed from Close Circuit Television (CCTV) footage during four daily recording sessions per animal over three consecutive days per treatment, using instantaneous scan sampling every 60 s. Individual faecal samples were collected daily to monitor changes in faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentration. Results indicate that the mean number of scans with stereotypic pacing was significantly reduced (p = 0.01) during Treatments 1 and 3, when cats participated in presentations only, or the two activities combined. Conversely, a significant reduction in behavioural diversity (p < 0.001) was observed when cats participated in Treatment 3, i.e., cats expressed fewer behaviours when interaction with visitors was more frequent. FGM concentrations did not vary significantly with treatment (p > 0.05). Given the reduction in stereotypic pacing, these findings suggest that involvement in an encounter program appears to exert an overall positive short-term welfare effect on the individual servals in this study. Although a reduction in behavioural diversity was not considered a negative welfare effect in the short term, potential long-term negative welfare effects resulting from a more frequent encounter program could not be ruled out in the present study.

The relationship between inadequate foraging opportunities and the expression of oral repetitive behaviors has been well documented in many production animal species. However, this relationship has been less‐well examined in zoo‐housed animals, particularly avian species. The expression of oral repetitive behavior may embody a frustrated foraging response, and may therefore be alleviated with the provision of foraging enrichment. In this study, we examined the effect of different foraging‐based enrichment items on a group of captive red‐tailed black cockatoos who were previously observed performing oral repetitive behavior. A group of six cockatoos were presented with five foraging enrichment conditions (no enrichment (control), sliced cucumber, fresh grass, baffle cages, and millet discs). Baseline activity budgets were established over a 10‐day preintervention period and interventions were then presented systematically over a 25‐day experimental period. This study demonstrated that the provision of foraging interventions effectively increased the median percentage of time spent foraging compared to control conditions (range, 5.0–31.7% across interventions vs. 5.0% for control), with two of the interventions; grass and millet discs, significantly decreasing the expression of oral repetitive behaviors (control = 16.6 vs. 8.3% for both grass and millet discs). Finally, a rapid‐scoring method utilized by zookeepers during the study proved to be a useful proxy for the amount of time the cockatoos spent interacting with the foraging interventions and overall time spent foraging.