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

Abstract

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.

Effects of New Seal Introductions on Conspecific and Visitor Activity

“…The Northern fur seal exhibit at the Seattle Aquarium allows visitors to be face-to-face with the seals when resting on dry haul-out spaces, possibly adding to positive visitor experiences. Positive introduction experiences also increase the likelihood that the visitors will continue to support the aquarium in the future [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 14 , 16 , 19 ].…”

“…AVIs—which involve the ways in which captive animals and visitors can impact each other’s behaviors—are in line with the goals of modern zoos and aquariums. Zoos and aquariums are interested in cultivating positive experiences among the visitors as a way to invoke empathy and positive attitudes towards the animals, as well as generating further support for their facilities and their conservation efforts [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. It is sometimes the case that visitors are drawn to zoos and aquariums due to an interest in observing animals that are exotic and rare to the geographical area.…”

“…Visitor experiences , on the other hand, are defined as the ways in which animals, exhibits, and zoos/aquariums in general impact visitors. Visitor experiences can be measured directly through behavioral measures such as crowd size or visitor length of stay [ 26 , 27 ], as well as through indirect measures such as surveys of visitor perceptions [ 4 , 28 ].…”

Primatology in zoos: Studying behavior, cognition, and welfare

“…As public facing institutions that welcome millions of visitors every year, zoos facilitate unique opportunities for public engagement with science (Bowler et al, 2012; Hopper, 2017; Learmonth et al, 2021; Price et al, 2015) and to enhance people's understanding of primate behavior, biology, and cognition (Ross et al, 2012; Webber et al, 2017; Zager & Jensvold, 2021). While some early published reports of primate cognitive performance arose from casual or serendipitous observations of zoo‐housed primates (e.g., Ashley‐Montagu, 1930), zoos have long offered opportunities for empirical research, as evidenced by an ambitious series of comparative studies run by Harry Harlow and colleagues at the Bronx Zoo and Vilas Park Zoo, in which over 20 primate species were tested with various cognitive tasks (e.g., Harlow et al, 1932; Maslow & Harlow, 1932; Yudin & Harlow, 1933).…”

Is Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) Wounding Frequency Affected by the Presence Versus Absence of Visitors? A Multi-Institutional Study

“…Most visitor-based researchers have investigated the effects of crowd size [11,14,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32], length of time at the enclosure [23,29,30,33], zoo attendance [12,17,28,[34][35][36][37][38][39], visitor attendance days [8,9,40,41], observer effects [42], and visitor attendance times [16] on animal behavior. Additionally, visitor behavior [6,20,23,29,31,33,[43][44][45], including noise levels [6,11,18,…”