What the Zoo Should Ask: The Visitor Perspective on Pro‐wildlife Behavior Attributes

Abstract

Abstract Zoos have some choice about which pro‐wildlife behaviors to ask their visitors to do, but with this freedom comes the difficult task of choosing behaviors that are appropriate, effective, and that do not affect visitors’ experiences. This paper presents attributes of pro‐wildlife behaviors that emerged from self‐completed questionnaires administered to 114 zoo visitors. Questions sought to elicit attributes that visitors felt should be considered in the behavior selection process. The results say that behaviors should: have an on‐site option; be new, or if known, include new learning that underpins why they are needed; be easy to do; and have a clear link between the behavior and how it helps wildlife. Respondents also made comments about specific behaviors as well as how behaviors should or should not be requested. We suggest that visitors’ perspectives be incorporated into pro‐wildlife behavior selection in zoos, and we propose that these findings may be relevant beyond zoos.

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