Perceptions and attitudes of visitors at the Jardín Zoológico Payo Obispo and their influence on the conservation of native wildlife

Abstract

This study focused on the relationship between the perceptions and attitudes of visitors at the Jardín Zoológico Payo Obispo and their support for the conservation of nine animal species, native of southeastern Mexico. Results from 198 surveys applied from November 2018 to February 2019, show that fear is the most important factor for visitors to decide if they support the protection of opossums and boas, while for ferruginous pygmy-owl and Morelet’s crocodile it was the aesthetic consideration (“ugly”). For the remainder species, with the exception of the jicotea turtle, both, the fear, and the aesthetic perceptions directly influence conservation support.