The effects of environmental and visitor variables on the behavior of free‐ranging ring‐tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) in captivity

Abstract

The effect of the zoo environment on captive animals is an increasingly studied area of zoo research, with visitor effects and exhibit design recognized as two of the factors that can contribute to animal welfare in captivity. It is known that in some situations, visitors may be stressful to zoo-housed primates, and this may be compounded by environmental factors such as the weather, the time of day, and zoo husbandry routines. Exhibit design and proximity of the public are also known to influence behavioral response of primates to visitors; however, there is minimal research on free-ranging zoo animals, even though they are potentially subjected to intense interactions with visitors. The current study explores the effect of the zoo environment, several visitor variables and specific animal-visitor interactions on the behavior of free-ranging ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at Fota Wildlife Park, Ireland. Data were obtained through scan samples collected over 18 months (n = 12,263) and analyzed using a range of statistical tests, including general estimating equations (GEE). Results demonstrate that the free-ranging lemurs' behavior at Fota Wildlife Park is affected by season, weather and time of day. Similarities in feeding behavior exist between the free-ranging group and lemurs in the wild when resources are plentiful. Visitor variables had a limited effect on lemur behavior and behavioral diversity level. Lemurs rarely reacted to visitors when specific interactions were considered. Generally, the results indicate that the ring-tailed lemurs in this study have adapted well to the zoo environment and habituated to visitors.

Evaluating the Effect of Visitor Presence on Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) Behavior

“…Similar to season, these findings highlight the importance of accounting for environment in the study of reptile behavior. Recently, both Collins et al (2017) and Goodenough et al (2019) reported that the behavior of ring tailed lemurs was better predicted by weather and time of day than visitor presence alone [19,20]. Furthermore, as many studies of visitor effect are correlational, it is also important to consider that visitor presence itself may be predicted by environmental variables such as temperature and time of day, thus evaluating environmental variables may provide additional context for understanding the nuances associated with visitor presence.…”

“…Goodenough et al (2019) recently reported that for ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) in a walk-through exhibit, a situation where a visitor effect may be greater compared to traditional stand-and-view exhibits, time and weather were significant predictors of behavior, and the presence of both reduced the overall statistical effect of visitor presence [19]. Similarly, Collins et al (2017) found that visitors had limited effects on ring-tailed lemur behavior, while season, weather and time of day had strong effects on behavior [20].…”

“…Here we compared the behavior of a large group of male Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) living at Disney's Animal Kingdom ® during the park closure to that during normal park operations. Since previous research has highlighted that environmental variables may be better predictors of animal behavior than the visitor effect alone [19,20], we also compared crocodile behavior to month, time of day, and temperature.…”

Effect of Covering a Visitor Viewing Area Window on the Behaviour of Zoo-Housed Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor)

“…This further supports our interpretation that visitors may be fear-provoking for little penguins in this exhibit. Research has shown that an area in which to retreat may minimise visitor-induced stress on zoo animals by providing a level of choice and control over their interactions with visitors [61][62][63][64]. Similarly, increased separation between visitors and penguins has shown to minimise the effects of visitors on little penguin fear responses [3].…”

A Global Review of Animal–Visitor Interactions in Modern Zoos and Aquariums and Their Implications for Wild Animal Welfare

“…Jones et al [28] and Collins et al [29] found that crown lemurs ( Eulemur coronatus ) and ring-tailed lemurs ( Lemur catta ) adapted well and became habituated to visitor presence in their free ranging exhibits. Similarly, Martin and Melfi [30] reported that unfamiliar keeper presence did not appear to have detrimental effect on captive wild animal welfare for a number of species including slender tailed meerkat ( Suricata suricatta ).…”