Urban Sloths: Public Knowledge, Opinions, and Interactions
Free-range sloths living in an urban environment are rare. In this study, the opinions, attitudes, and interactions with a population of Bradypus variegatus were investigated through short, structured interviews of people in the pubic square where the sloths live, in addition to informal, opportunis...
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doaj-4fbfd5489f3043fea4e6c0c292ea65c62020-11-25T01:41:03ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152018-06-01869010.3390/ani8060090ani8060090Urban Sloths: Public Knowledge, Opinions, and InteractionsKissia Ferreira Pereira0Robert John Young1Vanner Boere2Ita de Oliveira e Silva3Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa 36570-900, BrazilSchool of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford Manchester, Salford M5 4WT, UKInstitute of Humanities, Arts and Sciences (IHAC), Federal University of Southern Bahia, Itabuna 45613-204, BrazilInstitute of Humanities, Arts and Sciences (IHAC), Federal University of Southern Bahia, Itabuna 45613-204, BrazilFree-range sloths living in an urban environment are rare. In this study, the opinions, attitudes, and interactions with a population of Bradypus variegatus were investigated through short, structured interviews of people in the pubic square where the sloths live, in addition to informal, opportunistic observations of human-sloth interactions. A questionnaire was applied to people in the square where the sloths reside, and informal, opportunistic observations of human-sloth interactions were made. 95% of respondents knew of the sloths’ existence in the square and 87.8% liked their presence. Opinions about population size differed greatly and younger people were concerned as to whether the square was an appropriate place for them. Some human-sloth interactions showed the consequences of a lack of biological knowledge. People initiated all sloth-human interactions. The fact that sloths are strictly folivorous has avoided interactions with humans and, consequently, mitigated any negative impacts of the human-animal interaction on their wellbeing. These results demonstrate that, while there is a harmonious relationship between people and sloths, actions in environmental education of the square’s public could be beneficial for the sloths.http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/8/6/90brown-throated slothhuman-animal interactionsquestionnaireurban wildlifeBradypus variegatus |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Kissia Ferreira Pereira Robert John Young Vanner Boere Ita de Oliveira e Silva |
spellingShingle |
Kissia Ferreira Pereira Robert John Young Vanner Boere Ita de Oliveira e Silva Urban Sloths: Public Knowledge, Opinions, and Interactions Animals brown-throated sloth human-animal interactions questionnaire urban wildlife Bradypus variegatus |
author_facet |
Kissia Ferreira Pereira Robert John Young Vanner Boere Ita de Oliveira e Silva |
author_sort |
Kissia Ferreira Pereira |
title |
Urban Sloths: Public Knowledge, Opinions, and Interactions |
title_short |
Urban Sloths: Public Knowledge, Opinions, and Interactions |
title_full |
Urban Sloths: Public Knowledge, Opinions, and Interactions |
title_fullStr |
Urban Sloths: Public Knowledge, Opinions, and Interactions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Urban Sloths: Public Knowledge, Opinions, and Interactions |
title_sort |
urban sloths: public knowledge, opinions, and interactions |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Animals |
issn |
2076-2615 |
publishDate |
2018-06-01 |
description |
Free-range sloths living in an urban environment are rare. In this study, the opinions, attitudes, and interactions with a population of Bradypus variegatus were investigated through short, structured interviews of people in the pubic square where the sloths live, in addition to informal, opportunistic observations of human-sloth interactions. A questionnaire was applied to people in the square where the sloths reside, and informal, opportunistic observations of human-sloth interactions were made. 95% of respondents knew of the sloths’ existence in the square and 87.8% liked their presence. Opinions about population size differed greatly and younger people were concerned as to whether the square was an appropriate place for them. Some human-sloth interactions showed the consequences of a lack of biological knowledge. People initiated all sloth-human interactions. The fact that sloths are strictly folivorous has avoided interactions with humans and, consequently, mitigated any negative impacts of the human-animal interaction on their wellbeing. These results demonstrate that, while there is a harmonious relationship between people and sloths, actions in environmental education of the square’s public could be beneficial for the sloths. |
topic |
brown-throated sloth human-animal interactions questionnaire urban wildlife Bradypus variegatus |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/8/6/90 |
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