Retreat space and human visitor density moderate undesirable behavior in petting zoo animals.
This study focused on the relationship between nonhuman animal behavior and envi-ronment- specifically, between the undesirable behavior exhibited by domestic pet-ting zoo animals in the presence of humans and the spatial design of the petting zoo environment. A spatial feature of a petting zoo referred to as a retreat space was ma-nipulated so that it affected the animals' opportunity for individual control over inter-action with humans. Three conditions were tested: no retreat space, semi-retreat space, and a full-retreat space. The subjects of this study were 5 African pygmy goats (Capra hircus) and 2 Romanov sheep (Ovis aries). Investigators used a focal sam-pling technique to analyze approximately 27 hr of behavioral data collected. The data were analyzed using multiple linear regression methods. The findings suggest that the full-retreat design beneficially moderated both sheep and goat behavior: Undesirable behaviors were lowest in the full-retreat condition. This study provides information that may improve human-animal interactions in a petting zoo setting and may in-crease animal well-being through exhibit design and management techniques.
School of Psychology Georgia Institute of Technology and TECHlab Zoo Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia 30315-1440, USA. uanderson@zooatlanta.org
Ursula S
US
Anderson
Marcie
M
Benne
Mollie A
MA
Bloomsmith
Terry L
TL
Maple
D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo / Q000523:psychology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004924:Escape Reaction; D005160:Facility Design and Construction / Q000592:standards; D005239:Fear; D006041:Goats / Q000523:psychology*; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D012756:Sheep / Q000523:psychology*