Exhibit Design and Visitor Behavior

Bitgood, Stephen; Patterson, Donald; Benefield, Arlene

doi:10.1177/0013916588204006

Cited by 157 publications

(184 citation statements)

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“…Third, visitors may provide enrichment for primates [Cook and Hosey, 1995;Hosey, 2000]. Finally, it may be the case that correlation does not equal causation, and, in fact, the behavior of zoo animals influences visitor response [Bitgood et al, 1988;Mitchell et al, 1992;Altman, 1998]. In the current study we focused on this last line of research, and considered a nonprimate group, the felids.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of felid activity on zoo visitor interest

2003

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The extent to which the presence of zoo visitors influences animal behavior, and the ways in which animal activity influences visitor interest and perception, are of great interest to zoological parks. Visitors have been variously characterized as being enriching for zoo animals, as being stressors, and generally as influencing behavior in measurable ways. Most studies have focused on primates, and have assumed a ''visitor effect'' paradigm (i.e., visitors influence animal behavior). Here we present findings from a study of a nonprimate group (felids), and examine the ''visitor attraction'' model, which assumes that visitors are attracted to active animals. We assessed visitor interest and number at seven cat exhibits at the Brookfield Zoo during the spring and summer of 2002. Data were collected during 1-min scans of each exhibit at 10-min intervals. The results indicate that visitor presence per se did not influence cat activity, and that visitor interest was generally greater when cats were active. Various species differences may be explained by visitor familiarity with the species, variations in exhibit design, and species-specific activity budgets. We conclude that the visitor attraction model may be more appropriate for taxa, such as large cats, that tend naturally to be largely inactive and to respond little (if at all) to visitor disturbances or efforts to engage. The relationship must be viewed as bidirectional: visitors influence animal behavior, and animal behavior influences visitor interest. However, the strength and primary direction of this relationship is likely taxon-specific. We suggest that a visitor attraction model may be more appropriate not only for felids, but for other taxa with similar behavioral patterns and responses as well.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of felid activity on zoo visitor interest

2003

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“…La inclusión de mamíferos en este nuevo imaginario se justifica debido a la atracción que muestran en general los visitantes por esta clase de vertebrados. Así, estudios llevados a cabo sobre las preferencias de los visitantes en relación a la fauna, efectuados fundamentalmente en parques zoológicos (Bitgood et al, 1988;Reade y Waran, 1996;Balmford et al, 1996;Ward et al, 1998;Balmford, 2000;Moncada et al, 2002;Margulis et al, 2003;Véras dos Santos et al, 2012) confirman estos resultados. El hecho de incluir entre los nuevos iconos también a animales de compañía o mascotas tiene que ver con la cercanía y empatía que tienen con las personas, facilitando así la conexión intelectual y también la emocional.…”

Section: Acciones Para La Mejora De Las Conexiones Intelectuales Con unclassified

Técnicas y estrategias para desarrollar el turismo experiencial en humedales

Blasco

Alonso-Monasterío

2016

invest. tur

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RESUMENSe han llevado a cabo numerosos esfuerzos en materia de Comunicación, Educación, Concienciación y Participación (CECoP) desde diversas administraciones y organizaciones conservacionistas en relación a la conservación de los humedales, pero los resultados han sido discretos si se comparan con los obtenidos en otros ecosistemas. Los humedales no gozan todavía del aprecio de la mayoría del público generalista, aunque son destinos habituales para ecoturistas especializados (p.e. observadores de aves). Este trabajo identifica y analiza, por una parte, las causas de esta situación como son la complejidad de evidenciar los atractivos naturales de los humedales y la existencia de una percepción negativa de estos ecosistemas entre ciertos sectores del público. Por otro lado, se presentan estrategias para abordar estas cuestiones y establecer una conexión más personal entre el público y los recursos que facilite el desarrollo de emociones en los visitantes. Así, se propone: un conocimiento en profundidad de los diferentes públicos, la identificación de nuevos iconos interpretativos, la puesta en valor del patrimonio intangible de los humedales, entre otros. Se describen también técnicas para reforzar la percepción sensorial de los visitantes in situ, ya que de ello depende, en gran medida, la satisfacción de la experiencia que, a su vez, está en la base de futuras actitudes y comportamientos proactivos de los visitantes en relación a la conservación, salvaguarda y disfrute de los humedales.

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“…It is also noted by several authors that visitor's enjoyment and interest are more enhanced when the wildlife consists of infant animals and larger animals [12]. Example of such visitor's enjoyment and excitement can be seen in Jersey Zoo where visitors enjoyed the larger primates, bears and baby animals [13].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Man-Made Wildlife Tourism Destination: The Visitors Perspective on Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Boyd

Johnny

Bakansing

2014

SHS Web of Conferences

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Abstract. Sabah is blessed with natural forest habitats and rich with floras and faunas. Amongst its' attraction is wildlife endemism. Lok Kawi Wildlife Park was established to provide an alternative wildlife tourism destination with its inhabitants from the wildlife species of Borneo. Since its opening in 2007, multitudes of tourists have visited the park. However, there has been no study to identify the visitor's perspective on Lok Kawi Wildlife Park as man-made wildlife tourism destination. The study aims to assist the park's management for the betterment of the park's facilities and future development. A convenience sampling and a designed questionnaire was applied in this study, distributed after the visitors visited the park. The results showed that majority of the visitors were Malaysian and only a quarter were foreign visitors. Majority indicated that visiting the park is for recreational outing (holiday) and only a few indicated that is an educational visit. Majority of the respondents knew the meaning of wildlife tourism and visiting the park's is part of wildlife tourism. Most of the respondents came to know about the park's existence through the local media and mostly agreed that the park indeed provide an authentic learning experience about wildlife, whilst creating wildlife conservation awareness.

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Exhibit Design and Visitor Behavior

Cited by 157 publications

References 1 publication

Effect of felid activity on zoo visitor interest

Effect of felid activity on zoo visitor interest

Técnicas y estrategias para desarrollar el turismo experiencial en humedales

Man-Made Wildlife Tourism Destination: The Visitors Perspective on Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, Sabah, Malaysia

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