Primate Tourism, Range Restriction, and Infant Risk Among Macaca thibetana at Mt. Huangshan, China

Abstract

Primate tourism is a growing trend in habitat countries, but few assessments of its impact on primate groups are available. We compare infant mortality in a group of Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) 6 yr before the government translocated the group and subsequently used them for tourism , 12 yr during management for tourism (1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002) 2004), and 1 yr when management was temporarily suspended (2003). We also compare aggression rates among adults before and during management, and test several hypotheses about specific factors (numbers of tourists, degree of range restriction, demographic changes, changes in α-males) that may have harmed infants. Infant mortality was significantly higher during management than before, but it was similar before management vs. during its suspension. After management began, serious attacks on infants occurred shortly before they died, and many infant corpses had bite wounds. Typically, infants sustained wounds after aggression broke out among adults in the provisioning area used for tourist viewing. Adult aggression rates in the provisioning area correlated positively with infant mortality over time. Range restriction accounted for 54.5% of the variation in infant mortality, and was more closely associated with both mortality and aggression than any other specific factor examined. We hypothesize that range restriction led to increased infant mortality by raising aggression levels in the provisioning area. We conclude that infant mortality is useful as an indicator of the impact of tourism on primate groups, and that range restriction is an inappropriate tourism management practice.

Tourist Behavior and Decibel Levels Correlate with Threat Frequency in Tibetan Macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mt. Huangshan, China

“…However, monkeys could and did avoid the tourist platform altogether. In the past, park staff used more restrictive "herding" methods (Berman et al 2007), essentially forcing monkeys into the provisioning area, but from 2005 through 2009 (our most recent research at the site), staff primarily monitored the monkeys' locations and allowed them to approach the platform at will. This management technique may help to reduce the potential stress posed by large numbers of people.…”

“…Throw object appears to be a candidate for additional research (r = 0.927, p = 0.073, which is suggestive considering its small representation in the data set: n = 17, or 1.13% of all intervals). Of note, rock throwing is the primary means used by park staff to discourage monkeys from climbing on the platform and being aggressive toward tourists; in the recent past but to a lesser extent now, it was used to herd monkeys when they strayed too far from the provisioning area (Berman et al 2007). The montowards, park staff (Jones et al 2008), so it is not surprising that having tourists show or throw rocks would be perceived as particularly alarming to them.…”

“…The group called Yulingkeng A1 (YA1) was habituated for research in 1986 and for tourism in 1992 (Berman et al 2007). A viewing platform from which tourists could observe the monkeys was constructed in 1994 (Berman et al 2007).…”

“…A viewing platform from which tourists could observe the monkeys was constructed in 1994 (Berman et al 2007). Since 1992, park rangers have provisioned monkeys with corn four times each day.…”

Ecotourism disturbances to non-human primates

“…非人灵长类观赏旅游，不仅能够提高公众的自 然保护意识 (Newsome et al, 2005;Fennell, 2008)，获 得稳定的资金以促进保护区和国家公园的基础设 施建设及物种保护，同时也可以提供给当地居民更 多的就业机会，最终促进社区经济发展 (Horwich, 1990;Brandon, 1996;Horwich, 1998;Zinner et al, 1998;Xiang et al, 2011)。然而，与游客的长期接触 将不可避免地给动物带来一些负面影响。一般来 说，对动物行为格局 (Zhao, 1991;Treves & Brandon, 2005;Hsu et al, 2009;Maréchal et al, 2011)、生理状 态 (Behie et al, 2010;Maréchal et al, 2011)以及人兽 共患疾病传播 (Wallis & Lee 1999;Vié 1999;Lafferty et al, 2002)等方面的干扰将影响种群健康和繁殖以 及种群结构和数量等 (Jiang et al，1994;Takahata et al, 1998;Torre et al, 2000;Berman et al, 2007) (Francis et al, 1987;Sapolsky, 1993;Elder, 2001;Cross et al, 2004;Maréchal et al, 2011)，其粪便皮质醇浓度已被 广泛应用于个体急、慢性压力研究 (Sapolsky, 1993;Crockett, 2000;Cross et al, 2004;Barbosa & Mota, 2009;Maréchal et al, 2011) …”