Revista de Etologia
Print version ISSN 1517-2805
Abstract
ZAPPES, Camilah Antunes; TAVARES DE SOUZA, José Olímpio; MACHADO, Leonardo Lopes and PREZOTO, Fábio. Behavior of visitors in the Park of the Mariano Procópio Museum, Juiz de Fora, MG. Rev. etol. [online]. 2010, vol.9, n.2, pp.48-54. ISSN 1517-2805.
We recorded the behavior of visitors in relation to the captive animals in the park of the Mariano Procópio Museum, Juiz de Fora, MG. The work was executed during the months of May and June, 2005. Individuals were scanned (n=1085), in three points, and the behaviors classified in five categories: to admire, to observe, to feed, blandness and interaction. The visitors were classified as: child, not child, group of children, group without children and mixed group. The most frequent behavior was observation (n=301, 28%), followed by admiration (n=259; 24%), blandness (n=248, 23%), interaction (n=163, 14%) and feeding (n=114, 11%). Children observe and interact more with animals than do other groups. Through the understanding of the behavior of visitors in environmental areas it is possible to make the elaboration of the educational strategy.
Keywords : Human behavior; Visitors; Captive animals; Ecological parks.