An explorative study on visitor's behaviour and their effect on the behaviour of primates at Chittagong zoo

Abstract

Visitors are vital components of a zoo and their importance has led to a research area dedicated to understanding the visitor-animals relationship. To study the influence of 'visitor presence' on captive primates, a behavioural study was conducted on four species of the monkey at Chittagong zoo. The behaviour of the visitors was studied and found that they use to tease the monkey during their visit. Among these people about 40% tease rhesus monkey, 30% tease the capped langure, 20% tease the pigtailed macaque and 10% tease the olive baboon on an average. All of these effects are consistent with an interpretation that visitors are a source of stressful excitement rather than of enrichment. The behaviour of monkey in response to visitor's activity was recorded independently when 'on-exhibit' in enclosures. In presence of visitors, primates were found less affiliative, more active, and more aggressive. These changes were particularly marked in arboreal monkeys, especially in smaller species. Detailed observations of a group of primates indicated that with increasing numbers of visitors the monkeys showed a linear increase in attention to visitors, in activity, and in stereotyped behaviour. Visitor presence was thus found to influence the behaviour of captive monkey in a negative way suggesting that 'visitor presence' might adversely affect their welfare.