The visitor effect, or the idea that the presence of guests can affect the behavior of zoo-housed animals, is an important area of study in zoos and aquariums. The three main scientific hypotheses are that visitor presence may 1) increase animal stress, 2) have no impact due to habituation, or 3) act as additional enrichment for the animals. In my study, I observed the behavior of Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) in order to determine whether there is a correlation between the number of guests and penguin behavior. Visible penguin behavior was distinguished as either being on land or in the water. These behaviors were selected for observation based on the zoo’s penguinarium design. In this exhibit, guests are able to have direct contact with the exhibit glass and may be mere inches from the swimming penguins. Penguins on land are somewhat more separated from guests by the water, which spans the width of the exhibit windows. Counts were divided between the three exhibit viewing windows, counting the number of guests, visible penguins on land, and penguins in the water at each window. If guests are acting as additional enrichment, it was expected that more penguins would be seen in the water; whereas, if visitors were contributing to animal stress, I expected more penguins to remain on land or in other areas not as easily visible to guests. Based on initial findings, both visible land penguins and penguins in the water increased with the number of guests. From this, we can speculate that guests are providing a form of additional enrichment for all penguins in this exhibit.
Caitlin Huff, ’15
Environmental Studies and Biology
Sponsor: Marty Condon