Enhancing the interpretation at the National Zoological Gardens in South Africa

Botha, Elricke; Kruger, Martinette; Viljoen, Armand

doi:10.1016/j.jort.2020.100362

Cited by 3 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Regarding the ranking of the zoos' functions, education was ranked as the number one function, followed by conservation, wildlife refuge, research, leisure activities and entertainment. The general profile is consistent with previous research Botha et al, 2021;Lee, 2015;Linke & Winter, 2011;Ryan & Saward, 2004;Schultz & Joordens, 2014;Ajayi & Tichaawa, 2020).…”

Section: Sampling Methods and Surveysupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Section D captured motivational factors and measured 23 statements ranging from socialisation, escape, education and engagement. These statements were based on and adapted from Ballantyne and Packer (2016), Colléony, Clayton, Couvet, Jalme, and Prévot (2017), Hallman and Benhow (2007), Roe et al (2014), Wijeratne, Van Dijk, Kirk-Brown, and Frost (2014) and Botha et al (2021). Finally, Section E measured respondents’ level of satisfaction with the zoo experience, and 18 statements were measured based on Ballantyne and Packer (2016), Hermann and Du Plessis (2014), Fernandez, Tamborski, Pickens, and Timberlake (2009) and Fuhrmani and Ladewig (2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Referring to zoo visitor attributes or characteristics, previous research seems to agree that zoo visitors are predominantly female, aged 30 or older, with lower levels of spending and are accompanied during their visit by a group of children (Ballantyne & Packer, 2016; Botha et al , 2021; Lee, 2015; Linke & Winter, 2011; Ryan & Saward, 2004; Schultz & Joordens, 2014). Zoo visitors have also been documented as domestic visitors, typically from the same city or close cities where the zoo is located (Botha et al , 2021; Ajayi & Tichaawa, 2020). The authors listed agree that the motivation for going to the zoo is primarily for entertainment, recreation or social reasons (these terms are used interchangeably).…”

Section: Literature Review and Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zoo visitors typically value entertainment (or recreation and leisure) more than the welfare of animals and education (Lee, 2015), which illustrates conflicting needs (Frost, 2011). It is against this background that zoos need to find a way to address both their mandate and the needs of their visitors (Botha, Kruger, & Viljoen, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Encouraging pro-conservation intentions in urban recreational spaces: a South African zoo perspective

Kruger

Viljoen

2022

IJTC

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Purpose Zoos are important urban tourism attractions. The challenge for zoos is finding a balance between attracting visitors and enhancing education and conservation management. This research contributes to a greater understanding of the conservation intentions of zoo visitors and how zoos can emphasise conservation management principles sustainably. This study aims to identify the variables that encourage conservation intentions among visitors to a South African zoo. Design/methodology/approach A destination-based survey was conducted in 2019 at the Johannesburg Zoo, and 445 questionnaires were administered through convenience sampling. Findings Exploratory factor analyses identified visitors’ conservation awareness because of zoos (pre-conscious, conscious and unconscious), behavioural intentions (advocating and supporting), motives (engagement, edutainment and escapism) and satisfaction (interaction and facility quality, and service and interpretation quality). The behavioural intentions were the dependent variables. Advocating conservation intentions (ACI) is an active role where zoo visitors feel a strong responsibility towards conservation and encourage others to the conservation cause. Supporting conservation intentions (SCI) relates more to loyalty towards visiting the zoo and subsequently supporting conservation. Stepwise linear regression analyses revealed that enhancing ACI relies on SCI, edutainment, conscious awareness, service and interpretation quality and total spending. However, enhancing SCI relies on ACI, interaction and facility quality and the motive, escapism, while engagement revealed a negative relationship. Originality/value The results show that zoos can encourage SCI to ACI by using interactive and entertaining interpretations to teach visitors about the zoo’s mandate and the importance of conservation while balancing their need to escape.

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Section: Sampling Methods and Surveysupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Review and Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Encouraging pro-conservation intentions in urban recreational spaces: a South African zoo perspective

Kruger

Viljoen

2022

IJTC

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“…Due to the assumption that wildlife park visitors tend to have higher interest in wildlife, we would like to point out that the results of this study are not necessarily representative of the general public. Research also suggests the positive effects of facilities accommodating wildlife on environmental learning (Botha et al, 2021) and behavioural changes of visitors (Ballantyne et al, 2018; Fukano et al, 2020; Hacker & Miller, 2016), which suggest that these are may be suitable locations for recruiting participants for CS projects on wildlife monitoring and management.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge of returning wildlife species and willingness to participate in citizen science projects among wildlife park visitors in Germany

et al. 2022

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1. Successful conservation efforts have led to recent increases of large mammals such as European bison Bison bonasus, moose Alces alces and grey wolf Canis lupus and their return to former habitats in central Europe. While embraced by some, the recovery of these species is a controversial topic and holds potential for human-wildlife conflicts. Involving the public has been suggested to be an effective method for monitoring wildlife and mitigating associated conflicts. To assess two interrelated prerequisites for engaging people in Citizen Science(CS)-knowledge of returning species and respondents' readiness to participate in CS activities for monitoring and managing these species-we conducted a survey (questionnaire) in two wildlife parks located in different states of Germany.Based on 472 complete questionnaires, we developed generalized linear models to understand how sociodemographic variables and exposure to the species affected visitors' knowledge of each species, and to investigate if sociodemographic variables and knowledge influenced the likelihood of visitors to participate in CS activities.3. Almost all visitors were aware of the returning wolf population, while knowledge and awareness about bison and moose were significantly lower. Knowledge of the two herbivores differed geographically (higher knowledge of moose in the north-eastern state), possibly indicating a positive association between exposure to the species and knowledge. However, models generally performed poorly in predicting knowledge about wildlife, suggesting that such specific knowledge is insufficiently explained by sociodemographic variables. 4. Our model, which explained stated willingness in CS indicated that younger participants and those with higher knowledge scores in the survey were more willing to engage in CS activities.

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