Gibbon focused tourism as a conservation tool: the behavioural response of Skywalker hoolock gibbons (Hoolock tianxing) to tourists

ABSTRACT

Biodiversity is declining in part due to destructive and unsustainable human activity. Nature-based tourism, informed by scientific data, has the potential to replace some income generated by unsustainable practices. We observed two groups of Hoolock tianxing gibbons – one exposed to tourists and the other to small research teams – at Gaoligong National Nature Reserve, China. We found that H. tianxing gibbons spent significantly more time scanning and less time resting in the presence of tourists, and that these effects were amplified by the number of tourists. We did not find a difference in overall daily activity budgets of individuals exposed to tourism compared to individuals exposed to research teams, suggesting that behavioural changes are currently restricted to periods when tourists are present. Gibbon-focused tourism programs have the potential to contribute to conservation efforts and our study demonstrates that programs informed by scientific research can be an ethical and sustainable conservation tool.

KEYWORDS:

• Nature-based tourism
• ecotourism
• gibbon
• behaviour
• conservation

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge our funding bodies: The National Science Foundation of China (#31160424 and #31822049), Primate Conservation Inc. (grant number: 1462), Primate Action Fund (grant number: 5094.024-0176), ANU College of Arts and Social Science and the Australian Government RTP scholarship. We would like to thank Cloud Mountain Conservation and the local research assistants for their logistical assistance and hard work in the field. Finally, we also thank the ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology and ANU Statistical Consulting Unit for their support and guidance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data supporting the results will be made available at the ANU data commons when the manuscript is accepted.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Primate Conservation Inc.: [Grant Number 1462]; Primate Action Fund: [Grant Number 5094.024-0176]; The National Science Foundation of China: [Grant Number 31160424,31822049].