Transcript PowerPoint-presentation

Human-wolf interactions:
the importance of hands-on
meetings.
By Anna Chowdhury
Do hands-on meetings between captive
wolves and people have the power to
alter peoples negative attitudes towards
the wolf, and do they affect the wolves
behaviour?
Behavioural study (see next page):
Video recordings of bachelor group at
Kolmården Zoo were made, during
times with humans present in the
enclosure and without. Frequency of
different social behavioours and
activities were recorded to detemine
the effects of hands-on meetings
Attitude survey (see page 3):
Questionnaire with 38 questions of
peoples previous knowlegde,
experience, attitudes and evalutations
of meetings were handed out to 16
different groups. Some questions were
answered before the meeting began,
others afterwards.
Behavioural study.
Attitude survey
Social communication between
individuals is partly done by visual
signals, which include behavioural
patterns (passive submission (D);
active submission (G); playinvite (H)),
body posture, tail and ear positions.
Signals of submission and dominance
deflects aggression and ultimaly lead to
a more harmonised pack.
No statistically significant difference in
social behaviours were found. 12% of
the groups time were spent in social
interactions with each other, 70% of
their time resting. In general the
frequency of resting behaviours were
higher when no humans were present,
leading to higher frequency of moving
around and socially interacting during
hands-on meetings. The omega standing
for 30% of the groups social
interactions, while the third ranking
male, the one engaging the most in
dominance and aggressive behaviours,
due to uncertainty or highest motivation
to climb up the hierarchy ladder, stand
for 23% of social interactions.
For further implications see last page.
Focal group, Kolmården Zoo
Tromb
Isor (alpha)
(3rd)
Zeke
(omega)
Korax
(beta)
Atlas
(4th)
Prejudices about wolves stem from long
tradition of using the animal as negative
symbol, in fables, pagan religions and
Christianity, children stories and
proverbs in use still today. Has been a
way to rectify the torture, poisoning,
mutilation and mass destruction of
wolves done by man throughout times.
Now however, peoples attitudes begin to
change, and with greater knowlegde of
the wolves comes higher tolerance and
acceptance.
Some statistically significant differences
were found for some questions, although
this due to diffrences in amount of
respondents in classification levels rather
than diffreences in answers depending on
classification levels.
Of 128 respondents 75% knew before
hand how many wild wolves live in
Scandinavia today, and 70% felt it was
very nice that wild wolves existed in
Sweden. 85% were first timers, and all
respondents felt their meeting had been a
positive experience. 85% claimed they
had learnt something new, and 92% felt
the wolves were good ambassadeurs for
their species, although 43% said the
wolves felt more like dogs than wild
wolves. The main motis making it
acceptable to hunt and kill wolves was if
the wolf acts fearless of humans and start
vacating urban areas. 78% also felt that
media represented the wolf wrongly, and
as more dangerous than in actual life.
For further implications see next page.
Further implications and
conclusion
Further studies are needed to compare
and determine wether or not the amount
of social interactions in the focal group
differs from other captive packs, both
human and non human socialized, and
what benefits this yields for the group.
To determine if the hands-on meetings
really has the power to alter peoples
negative attitudes a selection of other
target groups, hunters, livestock holders,
company conference groups, are needed.
These studies suggest that hands-on
meetings could be a tool for conserving
and preserving the wolf, and that it also
could be if not beneficiary for a captive
pack in any other way, it could be
considered as an environmental
enrichment, increasing activity in a pack
and enlightening the animals days by
having them interact with different
people and exposing them to different
smells.