Interactions between tourists and juvenile Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mt. Huangshan, China
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Room 137B
Start Date
15-5-2014
End Date
15-5-2014
Keywords
Tourism, Macaque, Interaction
Abstract
Primate tourism research has rarely focused on the interactions of free ranging juvenile and infant monkeys with humans. We investigated young Tibetan macaque (Macaca thibetana) interactions with tourists, researchers, and park staff at the Valley of the Wild Monkeys, Mt. Huangshan, China. One hypothesis stated macaques would display more aggressive behaviors toward unfamiliar humans than frequent visitors. We also hypothesized that the boldness of a monkey depended on its mother’s boldness and the support of its peers. For each interaction, data were collected on monkey identity, human categorization, monkey and human behaviors, and monkey proximity to humans. Non-metric multidimensional scaling was used to investigate patterns of individuals’ interactions with categorical data (e.g., mother’s rank, monkey’s age class, and sex). The data showed significantly more interactions initiated by monkeys than humans ([92.61% vs. 7.39%]; χ2=1414.579, d.f.=2, p<0.01). There was a trend toward subadult and juvenile individuals being the most bold with higher inclinations toward aggressing at humans, while infants rarely engaged humans. Boldness did not seem to correlate with mother boldness or sex, but instead showed association with age class. Aggression rates affected individual tourists frequently more than researchers, park staff, or groups of tourists, with a partiality toward boy visitors (z=1.91, p<.05). Many of these aggressive actions were linked to tourists provoking monkeys with gestures or providing food separately from regularly scheduled feedings. We suggested several management strategies to decrease juvenile and human interactions which include reducing food thrown by tourists, educating tourists to use non-threatening behaviors, and placing fencing as a barrier on the platform.
Recommended Citation
Staven, Asa, "Interactions between tourists and juvenile Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mt. Huangshan, China" (2014). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 135.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2014/oralpresentations/135
Additional Mentoring Department
Primate Behavior and Ecology
Additional Mentoring Department
Biological Sciences
Additional Mentoring Department
Anthropology
Additional Mentoring Department
School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
Interactions between tourists and juvenile Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mt. Huangshan, China
SURC Room 137B
Primate tourism research has rarely focused on the interactions of free ranging juvenile and infant monkeys with humans. We investigated young Tibetan macaque (Macaca thibetana) interactions with tourists, researchers, and park staff at the Valley of the Wild Monkeys, Mt. Huangshan, China. One hypothesis stated macaques would display more aggressive behaviors toward unfamiliar humans than frequent visitors. We also hypothesized that the boldness of a monkey depended on its mother’s boldness and the support of its peers. For each interaction, data were collected on monkey identity, human categorization, monkey and human behaviors, and monkey proximity to humans. Non-metric multidimensional scaling was used to investigate patterns of individuals’ interactions with categorical data (e.g., mother’s rank, monkey’s age class, and sex). The data showed significantly more interactions initiated by monkeys than humans ([92.61% vs. 7.39%]; χ2=1414.579, d.f.=2, p<0.01). There was a trend toward subadult and juvenile individuals being the most bold with higher inclinations toward aggressing at humans, while infants rarely engaged humans. Boldness did not seem to correlate with mother boldness or sex, but instead showed association with age class. Aggression rates affected individual tourists frequently more than researchers, park staff, or groups of tourists, with a partiality toward boy visitors (z=1.91, p<.05). Many of these aggressive actions were linked to tourists provoking monkeys with gestures or providing food separately from regularly scheduled feedings. We suggested several management strategies to decrease juvenile and human interactions which include reducing food thrown by tourists, educating tourists to use non-threatening behaviors, and placing fencing as a barrier on the platform.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Wagner, Steve; Li, Jin-Hua