Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/N012607/1
Changing visitor expectation, experience and satisfaction by modifying visitor side environment at a chimpanzee exhibit at Twycross Zoo
Fellowship Award
- Fellow:
- Miss NKI Hanson, University of Birmingham, Sch of Biosciences
- Grant held at:
- University of Birmingham, Sch of Biosciences
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Unknown
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Animal behaviour
- Behavioural choice
- Animal behaviour
- Animal welfare
- Behavioural modelling
- Environmental factors
- Behavioural Ecology
- Innovation
- Research and Development
- Creativity & innovation
- Strategic Innovation
- Forests
- Conservation
- Ecosystem Scale Processes
- Abstract:
- Imagine the hush that falls on a crowd entering a grand cathedral; they automatically tread and whisper quietly. Researchers entering tropical forests to track wild chimpanzees experience the same emotions and behave in a similar way. They are overwhelmed by a feeling of reverence of observing the natural behavioural ecology of our closest living relatives. Imagine now a visitor entering a chimpanzee exhibit at a zoo; their attitude is entirely different. Visitors expect to be close to active, entertaining animals behaving as they have seen them on wild-life documentaries. This is far from the reality of wild ape behaviour, where they spend up to 60% of the time resting! TV cannot replicate the magnificence or excitement of tracking chimpanzees in the wild, but zoos offer the unique opportunity to be part of their behaviour and social life. However, being close to humans is unnatural for wild animals and can result in abnormal behaviours. This is particularly true for apes who are highly intelligent and whose behaviour is tightly linked to their complex forest environment. These altered behaviours result in false representation of apes and hinder UK zoos' abilities to achieve their objectives: education; research; conservation; and optimising animal welfare including allowing expression of natural behaviours. Zoos face the challenge of enriching visitor experience whilst delivering their aims of inspiring conservation through environmental education and maintaining the highest welfare for animals in their care. I aim to generate a change in visitor expectation from one of viewing chimpanzees for entertainment to one rooted in the privilege of witnessing this endangered ape behaving naturally. By immersing visitors in a calming yet striking forest environment and providing virtual technology to explore the exhibit with I will elicit a quiet and less hurried approach to viewing the animals. This will allow the chimpanzees to express more natural behaviours such as playing or grooming, which in turn will enhance visitor experience and satisfaction. I will achieve this by combining interventions such as partial window covers, ambient sounds, lighting with a forest-specific colour and intensity spectrum, sound-proof rubber flooring, and a high humidity atmosphere. I will also provide virtual technology with which visitors can further explore the exhibit. Visitors will be invited to scan the enclosure with an iPad in a 'picture capture mode' whereby a custom-designed app registers a specific object (e.g. a nest or climbing pole) and will automatically load linked files. I will programme these to include videos of these chimpanzees in particularly active states (e.g. feeding or playing). Visitors will experience a range of chimpanzee behaviours regardless of the animals' activity at the time of viewing, and will develop an understanding of realistic activity patterns. I will compare chimpanzee behaviour and visitor behaviour and satisfaction before and after these interventions. The impact of these visitor-side environmental changes will be two-fold. 1) Increased visitor satisfaction at the exhibit will improve the public image (and revenue) of the zoo. 2) The changes made will reduce the impact of visitor closeness on chimpanzees, which will enhance their wild-type behaviours. With this data I will produce evidence-based guidelines to be used by Twycross Zoo to facilitate a change of practice by using these methods for different species. These guidelines will then be disseminated to the UK and European zoo sector through Twycross Zoo's integral role in the Taxon Advisory Group for Great Apes and member of BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums).
- NERC Reference:
- NE/N012607/1
- Grant Stage:
- Awaiting Offer Decision
- Scheme:
- Knowledge Exchange Fellowships
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Innovation Internships
This fellowship award has a total value of £13,386
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Exception - Other Costs | Exception - Staff | Exception - T&S |
|---|---|---|
| £3,216 | £7,085 | £3,085 |
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