Effects of Visitor Presence and Crowd Size on Zoo-Housed Red Kangaroos (Macropus Rufus) During and After a COVID-19 Closure

Macropods, particularly kangaroos and wallabies, are common species included in walk-through habitats that put them in close proximity to zoo visitors. However, there has been little research into how visitor presence and density impact the welfare of these individuals. We monitored the behavior and...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Megan Jones, Kylen N. Gartland, Grace Fuller
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Animal Behavior and Cognition 2021
Materias:	visitor effects red kangaroo macropods walk-through habitat zoo welfare Zoology QL1-991
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/c52d90f950b44ebdab9bd8f634d3a408
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:c52d90f950b44ebdab9bd8f634d3a408
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:c52d90f950b44ebdab9bd8f634d3a4082021-11-03T19:29:09ZEffects of Visitor Presence and Crowd Size on Zoo-Housed Red Kangaroos (Macropus Rufus) During and After a COVID-19 Closure10.26451/abc.08.04.06.20212372-50522372-4323https://doaj.org/article/c52d90f950b44ebdab9bd8f634d3a4082021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.animalbehaviorandcognition.org/uploads/journals/35/AB_C_Vol8(4)_Jones_et_al.pdfhttps://doaj.org/toc/2372-5052https://doaj.org/toc/2372-4323Macropods, particularly kangaroos and wallabies, are common species included in walk-through habitats that put them in close proximity to zoo visitors. However, there has been little research into how visitor presence and density impact the welfare of these individuals. We monitored the behavior and space use of fifteen red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) for a total of ten weeks during and after a nearly three-month zoo closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings revealed potential visitor effects, evidenced by more time spent in social proximity, greater inactivity, and more restricted space use after the zoo reopened. Although temperature and weather likely played a role in at least some of these behavioral changes, social proximity and space use changed with crowd size in a manner consistent with our zoo status (i.e., open or closed) results. Additionally, time spent feeding was significantly related to crowd size but not zoo status, such that the kangaroos spent more time feeding when there were no visitors in the habitat. These findings suggest that visitor effects explain these behavioral changes better than seasonal confounds. We also noted several individual differences in response to visitor presence and crowd size, highlighting the importance of evaluating behavioral responses to visitors on an individual basis.Megan JonesKylen N. GartlandGrace FullerAnimal Behavior and Cognitionarticlevisitor effectsred kangaroomacropodswalk-through habitatzoowelfareZoologyQL1-991ENAnimal Behavior and Cognition, Vol 8, Iss 4, Pp 521-537 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	visitor effects red kangaroo macropods walk-through habitat zoo welfare Zoology QL1-991
spellingShingle	visitor effects red kangaroo macropods walk-through habitat zoo welfare Zoology QL1-991 Megan Jones Kylen N. Gartland Grace Fuller Effects of Visitor Presence and Crowd Size on Zoo-Housed Red Kangaroos (Macropus Rufus) During and After a COVID-19 Closure
description	Macropods, particularly kangaroos and wallabies, are common species included in walk-through habitats that put them in close proximity to zoo visitors. However, there has been little research into how visitor presence and density impact the welfare of these individuals. We monitored the behavior and space use of fifteen red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) for a total of ten weeks during and after a nearly three-month zoo closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings revealed potential visitor effects, evidenced by more time spent in social proximity, greater inactivity, and more restricted space use after the zoo reopened. Although temperature and weather likely played a role in at least some of these behavioral changes, social proximity and space use changed with crowd size in a manner consistent with our zoo status (i.e., open or closed) results. Additionally, time spent feeding was significantly related to crowd size but not zoo status, such that the kangaroos spent more time feeding when there were no visitors in the habitat. These findings suggest that visitor effects explain these behavioral changes better than seasonal confounds. We also noted several individual differences in response to visitor presence and crowd size, highlighting the importance of evaluating behavioral responses to visitors on an individual basis.
format	article
author	Megan Jones Kylen N. Gartland Grace Fuller
author_facet	Megan Jones Kylen N. Gartland Grace Fuller
author_sort	Megan Jones
title	Effects of Visitor Presence and Crowd Size on Zoo-Housed Red Kangaroos (Macropus Rufus) During and After a COVID-19 Closure
title_short	Effects of Visitor Presence and Crowd Size on Zoo-Housed Red Kangaroos (Macropus Rufus) During and After a COVID-19 Closure
title_full	Effects of Visitor Presence and Crowd Size on Zoo-Housed Red Kangaroos (Macropus Rufus) During and After a COVID-19 Closure
title_fullStr	Effects of Visitor Presence and Crowd Size on Zoo-Housed Red Kangaroos (Macropus Rufus) During and After a COVID-19 Closure
title_full_unstemmed	Effects of Visitor Presence and Crowd Size on Zoo-Housed Red Kangaroos (Macropus Rufus) During and After a COVID-19 Closure
title_sort	effects of visitor presence and crowd size on zoo-housed red kangaroos (macropus rufus) during and after a covid-19 closure
publisher	Animal Behavior and Cognition
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/c52d90f950b44ebdab9bd8f634d3a408
work_keys_str_mv	AT meganjones effectsofvisitorpresenceandcrowdsizeonzoohousedredkangaroosmacropusrufusduringandafteracovid19closure AT kylenngartland effectsofvisitorpresenceandcrowdsizeonzoohousedredkangaroosmacropusrufusduringandafteracovid19closure AT gracefuller effectsofvisitorpresenceandcrowdsizeonzoohousedredkangaroosmacropusrufusduringandafteracovid19closure
_version_	1718445420849397760

Effects of Visitor Presence and Crowd Size on Zoo-Housed Red Kangaroos (Macropus Rufus) During and After a COVID-19 Closure

Ejemplares similares