The effects of human-zoo ambassador animal interactions on millennial populations

Abstract

Zoos and aquariums offer unique opportunities for their visitors to engage with a variety of animals, including many nonnative species. These human–non-human animal interactions may also occur outside of the zoo, as some institutions have ambassador animals that travel to locations for educational purposes. Shifting attitudes towards animals in professional care including ambassador animals has been identified in millennial populations, who are considered drivers of social change. The objective of this series of preliminary studies was to evaluate the impact of live ambassador animals on millennials’ knowledge gain as well as changes in attitudes towards zoos, species conservation and animal welfare. Experiments were conducted using a pre-/post-test methodology with treatment groups consisting of live animals during educational messaging versus control groups with no animal present (n=65; n=34, respectively). The human-zoo animal interaction for each experiment’s treatment group was simply the presence of the animal—no touching was allowed. Results suggest that the use of a live zoo ambassador animal during educational experiences increases positive attitudes towards some species (P=0.02) and enhances perceptions of zoo animal welfare (P=0.02). These studies contribute to critical evaluation of the use of zoo ambassador animals as well as aid in the objective measurement of the effectiveness of these interactions.