What Is the Future for Zoos and Aquariums?

ABSTRACT

Animal welfare concerns have plagued the professional zoo and aquarium field for decades. Societal differences remain concerning the well-being of animals, but it appears a shift is emerging. Scientific studies of animal welfare have dramatically increased, establishing that many previous concerns were not misguided public empathy or anthropomorphism. As a result, both zoo and aquarium animal welfare policy and science are now at the center of attention within the world’s professional zoos and aquariums. It is now possible to view a future that embraces the well-being of individual captive exotic animals, as well as that of their species, and one in which professional zoos and aquariums are dedicated equally to advancing both. Though the ethics of keeping exotic animals and animals from the wild in captivity are still a contentious subject both outside and even within the profession, this study argues. We argue that this path forward will substantially improve most zoo and aquarium animals' welfare and could significantly reduce societal concerns. If animal welfare science and policy are strongly rooted in compassion and embedded in robust accreditation systems, the basic zoo/aquarium paradigm will move toward a more thoughtful approach to the interface between visitors and animals. It starts with a fundamental commitment to the welfare of individual animals.     

Visitor behavior in zoos: A review

Abstract

Visitors are integral components of zoological parks and their importance has led to a research area devoted to understanding the people–zoo relationship. This paper reviews, and provides a point of entry into, the literature relating to visitor research in zoos. The field emerged relatively recently and is diverse and interdisciplinary (it shares common ground with sociology, education, psychology, zoology, and other academic disciplines). Several areas can be identified in the literature (audience analysis, circulation and orientation, exhibit evaluation, and interactions with animals), and these areas have revealed visitors' demographic and behavioral characteristics, people's behavioral responses to endogenous and exogenous factors, the impact of exhibit design, and visitors' movements around zoos. Limitations of existing work include independence between research areas, lack of international studies, limited generalizability of results, and the minority status of the field. Therefore, suggestions for future work include integrating different research areas, more research from outside Europe and America, and increased interaction within the visitor research community.     

玩具丰容对圈养白颊长臂猿行为的影响

为帮助改善动物园人工繁育的国家Ⅰ级重点保护野生动物——白颊长臂猿Nomascus leucogenys的饲养环境,本实验尝试研究玩具丰容对其行为的影响。2014年7-8月,对北京动物园的1个白颊长臂猿种群（5只个体）中的2只进行玩具丰容,通过焦点取样法和瞬时记录法对白颊长臂猿的18种行为进行观察记录,并使用配对t检验对丰容前期、丰容期各行为的持续时间进行比较。结果显示,丰容期白颊长臂猿的多项日常行为均有显著的提高或下降,其中受游客干扰行为显著下降而探求行为增加,但探求行为的增加持续时间不超过4 d。结果表明,玩具丰容能够影响白颊长臂猿的行为且丰容效果有个体差异。玩具丰容能够一定程度增加白颊长臂猿探求行为并减少其对游客的注意,但是效果会随时间减弱。