Animal-Visitor Interactions and the Visitor Experience: Visitor Behaviors, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Learning in the Modern Zoo

Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVIs) have become commonplace in zoological institutions and facilities globally. However, most AVI research focuses on the effects of visitors on the welfare of animals, with considerably fewer studies examining the visitor experience itself. Furthermore, robust evaluat...

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Autores principales:	Mark James Learmonth, Samantha J. Chiew, Andrea Godinez, Eduardo J. Fernandez
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Animal Behavior and Cognition 2021
Materias:	animal-visitor interactions human-animal interactions visitor attitudes visitor behaviors visitor experience visitor learning visitor perceptions Zoology QL1-991
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/cc22500c106146598e7fc1ffd62f434f
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:cc22500c106146598e7fc1ffd62f434f2021-11-03T19:40:16ZAnimal-Visitor Interactions and the Visitor Experience: Visitor Behaviors, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Learning in the Modern Zoo10.26451/abc.08.04.13.20212372-50522372-4323https://doaj.org/article/cc22500c106146598e7fc1ffd62f434f2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.animalbehaviorandcognition.org/uploads/journals/35/AB_C_Vol8(4)_Learmonth_et_al.pdfhttps://doaj.org/toc/2372-5052https://doaj.org/toc/2372-4323Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVIs) have become commonplace in zoological institutions and facilities globally. However, most AVI research focuses on the effects of visitors on the welfare of animals, with considerably fewer studies examining the visitor experience itself. Furthermore, robust evaluations of the efficacy of zoo education programs and engagements for increasing visitor awareness of conservation issues, and for fostering long-term pro-conservation behavior changes in them, are under-researched. This paper reviews the current literature that pertains to the effects of zoo visitation and AVIs on visitor perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes. We briefly note some of the known effects that zoo visitors have on zoo animals, then explore the effects that factors such as enclosure design, animal visibility and behaviors, and AVIs can have on visitors’ overall experience whilst attending the zoo. We suggest that future research needs to more closely examine the relationships and interactions between zoo visitors and zoo animals; why some zoo visitors over others repeat visitation; what the differences in beliefs and attitudes may be between “zoo visitors” and “non-zoo visitors” (i.e., other general public); and to make a concerted effort to understand: (1) what visitors do after they leave the zoo, and (2) whether visitors adopt long-term pro-conservation behaviors into their daily lives. We further suggest that future research needs to start investigating indirect measures related to the visitor experience, such as: (a) individual conservation support outside of the zoo; (b) internet activity; (c) changes in sustainable purchasing practices related to knowledge gains; (d) financial investment in sustainable or ethical companies after knowledge gains; (e) and the longitudinal effects of zoo visits. Mark James LearmonthSamantha J. ChiewAndrea GodinezEduardo J. FernandezAnimal Behavior and Cognitionarticleanimal-visitor interactionshuman-animal interactionsvisitor attitudesvisitor behaviorsvisitor experiencevisitor learningvisitor perceptionsZoologyQL1-991ENAnimal Behavior and Cognition, Vol 8, Iss 4, Pp 632-649 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	animal-visitor interactions human-animal interactions visitor attitudes visitor behaviors visitor experience visitor learning visitor perceptions Zoology QL1-991
spellingShingle	animal-visitor interactions human-animal interactions visitor attitudes visitor behaviors visitor experience visitor learning visitor perceptions Zoology QL1-991 Mark James Learmonth Samantha J. Chiew Andrea Godinez Eduardo J. Fernandez Animal-Visitor Interactions and the Visitor Experience: Visitor Behaviors, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Learning in the Modern Zoo
description	Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVIs) have become commonplace in zoological institutions and facilities globally. However, most AVI research focuses on the effects of visitors on the welfare of animals, with considerably fewer studies examining the visitor experience itself. Furthermore, robust evaluations of the efficacy of zoo education programs and engagements for increasing visitor awareness of conservation issues, and for fostering long-term pro-conservation behavior changes in them, are under-researched. This paper reviews the current literature that pertains to the effects of zoo visitation and AVIs on visitor perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes. We briefly note some of the known effects that zoo visitors have on zoo animals, then explore the effects that factors such as enclosure design, animal visibility and behaviors, and AVIs can have on visitors’ overall experience whilst attending the zoo. We suggest that future research needs to more closely examine the relationships and interactions between zoo visitors and zoo animals; why some zoo visitors over others repeat visitation; what the differences in beliefs and attitudes may be between “zoo visitors” and “non-zoo visitors” (i.e., other general public); and to make a concerted effort to understand: (1) what visitors do after they leave the zoo, and (2) whether visitors adopt long-term pro-conservation behaviors into their daily lives. We further suggest that future research needs to start investigating indirect measures related to the visitor experience, such as: (a) individual conservation support outside of the zoo; (b) internet activity; (c) changes in sustainable purchasing practices related to knowledge gains; (d) financial investment in sustainable or ethical companies after knowledge gains; (e) and the longitudinal effects of zoo visits.
format	article
author	Mark James Learmonth Samantha J. Chiew Andrea Godinez Eduardo J. Fernandez
author_facet	Mark James Learmonth Samantha J. Chiew Andrea Godinez Eduardo J. Fernandez
author_sort	Mark James Learmonth
title	Animal-Visitor Interactions and the Visitor Experience: Visitor Behaviors, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Learning in the Modern Zoo
title_short	Animal-Visitor Interactions and the Visitor Experience: Visitor Behaviors, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Learning in the Modern Zoo
title_full	Animal-Visitor Interactions and the Visitor Experience: Visitor Behaviors, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Learning in the Modern Zoo
title_fullStr	Animal-Visitor Interactions and the Visitor Experience: Visitor Behaviors, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Learning in the Modern Zoo
title_full_unstemmed	Animal-Visitor Interactions and the Visitor Experience: Visitor Behaviors, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Learning in the Modern Zoo
title_sort	animal-visitor interactions and the visitor experience: visitor behaviors, attitudes, perceptions, and learning in the modern zoo
publisher	Animal Behavior and Cognition
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/cc22500c106146598e7fc1ffd62f434f
work_keys_str_mv	AT markjameslearmonth animalvisitorinteractionsandthevisitorexperiencevisitorbehaviorsattitudesperceptionsandlearninginthemodernzoo AT samanthajchiew animalvisitorinteractionsandthevisitorexperiencevisitorbehaviorsattitudesperceptionsandlearninginthemodernzoo AT andreagodinez animalvisitorinteractionsandthevisitorexperiencevisitorbehaviorsattitudesperceptionsandlearninginthemodernzoo AT eduardojfernandez animalvisitorinteractionsandthevisitorexperiencevisitorbehaviorsattitudesperceptionsandlearninginthemodernzoo
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Animal-Visitor Interactions and the Visitor Experience: Visitor Behaviors, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Learning in the Modern Zoo

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