Lion, Ungulate, and Visitor Reactions to Playbacks of Lion Roars at Zoo Atlanta

Abstract

Felids in captivity are often inactive and elusive in zoos, leading to a frustrating visitor experience. Eight roars were recorded from an adult male lion and played back over speakers as auditory enrichment to benefit the lions while simultaneously enhancing the zoo visitor experience. In addition, ungulates in an adjacent exhibit were observed to ensure that the novel location and increased frequency of roars did not lead to a stress or fear response. The male lion in this study roared more in the playback phase than in the baseline phases while not increasing any behaviors that would indicate compromised welfare. In addition, zoo visitors remained at the lion exhibit longer during playback. The nearby ungulates never exhibited any reactions stronger than orienting to playbacks, identical to their reactions to live roars. Therefore, naturalistic playbacks of lion roars are a potential form of auditory enrichment that leads to more instances of live lion roars and enhances the visitor experience without increasing the stress levels of nearby ungulates or the lion themselves, who might interpret the roar as that of an intruder.

Measurement of visitors' satisfaction with public zoos in Korea using importance-performance analysis

“…Being able to get close to the wildlife and seeing large, rare species in their natural settings contributed to visitor satisfaction (Moscardo, 2008;Moscardo & Salzer, 2004). Kelling, Allard, Kelling, Sandhaus, and Maple (2012) found that naturalistic playbacks of lion roars enhanced the visitor experience and influenced higher satisfaction with the exhibit.…”

Enriquecimento Ambiental para felinos em cativeiro: classificação de técnicas, desafios e futuras direções

“…Markowitz et al, (1995) detectaram aumento da atividade e redução do ritmo após a introdução de sons de presas para uma fêmea de leopar-do africano (Panthera pardus pardus, Linnaeus, 1758). Kelling et al (2012) apresentou oito tipos de sons de um rugido de um leão macho para um casal de leões no zoológico de Atlanta, Geórgia, Estados Unidos. Esse método resultou em um aumento de rugidos freqüentemente expresso pelo macho cativo e ambos os leões passaram mais tempo no ambiente externo.…”

A modified operational sequence methodology for zoo exhibit design and renovation: Conceptualizing animals, staff, and visitors as interdependent coworkers

“…Animal welfare needs and how the environment affects behavior has been thoroughly investigated [Mason and Mendl, ; Veasey et al, ; Dawkins, ]. Designing exhibits for optimal visitor use also has been fairly well studied [Bitgood et al, ; Falk, ; Ballantyne et al, ; Falk et al, ; Kelling et al, ] and visitor motivation has been systematically researched [Reade and Waran, ; Falk, ].…”

“…Design choices can have powerful effects on animal behavior and should be made to maximize animal welfare while also supporting the other zoo users and goals. Small exhibit design changes have resulted in improved animal behavior [e.g., Markowitz, ; Markowitz and LaForse, ; Rutowski et al, ] and more supportive and entertaining visitor environments [Bitgood et al, ; Ballantyne et al, ; Kelling et al, ]. Exhibit design influences on staff behavior has been investigated considerably less.…”