The Impact of ‘Selfie’ Tourism on the Behaviour and Welfare of Brown-Throated Three-Toed Sloths
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
1.1. Wildlife Tourism
1.2. Physical Contact
1.3. Measuring Handling Stress
1.4. Sloths
2. Methodology
2.1. Ethics
2.2. Subjects and Study Locations
2.3. Procedure and Data Collection
2.4. Video Analyses
2.5. Data Analyses
3. Results
3.1.Tourists and Handling Scores
3.2. Sloth Behaviour
4. Discussion
4.1. Handling Scores
4.2. Surveillance Behaviour
4.3. Additional Behaviours
4.4. Limitations and Future Research
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Location | Number of Sloths at Each Location | Number of Focal Observations at Each Location | Total Observation Length at Each Location (Minutes) |
---|---|---|---|
Manaus, Brazil | 9 | 45 | 161.7 |
Puerto Alegria, Peru | 4 | 11 | 31.3 |
Iquitos, Peru | 4 | 14 | 40.1 |
Sloth Behaviour | Description of Sloth Behaviour |
---|---|
Sleep/rest | Body motionless, subject does not appear to be vigilant, eyes may be open or closed. |
Self-groom | Scraping the surface of the fur in a back and forth motion making use of the claws. |
Eating | Ingestion of edible material. |
Movement | Movement of limbs to move from one location to another. |
Limb stretch | A full extension of the arms and/or legs. They are deliberately held out and extended. |
Surveillance of handler | Eyes are open and the sloth’s head moves left and right following the motion of the handler and/or makes eye contact clearly demonstrating that the handler has been perceived. |
Surveillance | Eyes are open and the sloth’s head moves left and right clearly observing their surroundings. |
Grab | Contact or attempted contact of foot or hand with a person. Ends when the hand or feet claws move back to their original position. |
Defecation/urination | Defecates or urinates |
Claw clasp | Claws are held together (either hands or feet) and held out in front of the body. |
Self-hold | A limb is held for example, hand holds foot. |
Open mouth | Mouth is held open |
Handling Score | Description of Handling |
---|---|
0 | The sloth’s limbs or head are manipulated in some way and/or held in a certain position on one or more occasions. and/or The sloth’s is held by his/her claws on one or more occasion(s) |
1 | For 50% of the time or more the sloth is held around the chest and is facing away from the handler or towards the handler but they are un-supported. Their legs and arms are left hanging. They have no or a limited opportunity to hold or cling onto the handler. |
2 | Intermediate between 1 and 3. For less than 50% of the time the sloth is held around the chest and facing away from the handler. In some instances, they are fully supported, facing inwards towards the handler. |
3 | The sloth’s body is fully supported by most the handlers for 80% of the time or more. The sloth is held facing in wards towards the handler’s body. The sloth can cling/hold on to the handler. |
Location | Mean Number of Handlers | Mean Number of Passes | Mean Handling Score |
---|---|---|---|
Manaus, Brazil | 5 | 6 | 1 |
Iquitos, Peru | 4 | 4 | 0 |
Puerto Alegria, Peru | 5 | 5 | 1 |
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Carder, G.; Plese, T.; Machado, F.C.; Paterson, S.; Matthews, N.; McAnea, L.; D’Cruze, N. The Impact of ‘Selfie’ Tourism on the Behaviour and Welfare of Brown-Throated Three-Toed Sloths. Animals 2018, 8, 216. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8110216
Carder G, Plese T, Machado FC, Paterson S, Matthews N, McAnea L, D’Cruze N. The Impact of ‘Selfie’ Tourism on the Behaviour and Welfare of Brown-Throated Three-Toed Sloths. Animals. 2018; 8(11):216. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8110216
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarder, Gemma, Tinka Plese, Fernando Carniel Machado, Suzanne Paterson, Neil Matthews, Laura McAnea, and Neil D’Cruze. 2018. "The Impact of ‘Selfie’ Tourism on the Behaviour and Welfare of Brown-Throated Three-Toed Sloths" Animals 8, no. 11: 216. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8110216
APA StyleCarder, G., Plese, T., Machado, F. C., Paterson, S., Matthews, N., McAnea, L., & D’Cruze, N. (2018). The Impact of ‘Selfie’ Tourism on the Behaviour and Welfare of Brown-Throated Three-Toed Sloths. Animals, 8(11), 216. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8110216