Are Tourists Facilitators of the Movement of Free-Ranging Dogs?
Dogs are the most abundant carnivores on earth and, as such, negatively impact wildlife. Free-ranging dogs roam in many protected areas, which in turn are often tourist destinations. Whether tourists influence their roaming is largely unexplored but highly relevant to wildlife conservation. To addre...
Published in: | Animals |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243564 |
id |
ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2076-2615/12/24/3564/ |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2076-2615/12/24/3564/ 2023-08-20T04:05:48+02:00 Are Tourists Facilitators of the Movement of Free-Ranging Dogs? Elke Schüttler Jaime E. Jiménez agris 2022-12-16 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243564 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Ecology and Conservation https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani12243564 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Animals; Volume 12; Issue 24; Pages: 3564 camera-trapping Canis lupus familiaris Chile companion animal invasive predator protected area questionnaire South America wildlife management Text 2022 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243564 2023-08-01T07:50:17Z Dogs are the most abundant carnivores on earth and, as such, negatively impact wildlife. Free-ranging dogs roam in many protected areas, which in turn are often tourist destinations. Whether tourists influence their roaming is largely unexplored but highly relevant to wildlife conservation. To address this question, we obtained (i) 81 completed questionnaires from tourists on their experience with free-ranging dogs in the remote Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, Chile, and (ii) photographs of three camera-traps placed next to trekking trails (n = 87 trap days). A third of the participants were followed by dogs for up to four days, and 39% saw free-ranging dogs on their hikes, but neither feeding dogs nor fear of them had any influence on whether tourists were followed by dogs. Camera-traps yielded 53 independent dog sequences, recorded 32 individuals plus 14 unidentified dogs, of which only one was leashed, with a frequency of one dog every 28th person. In 17% of 53 sequences, dogs were photographed together with hikers carrying large backpacks for several-day trips. We conclude that tourists are facilitators for the movement of dogs and highlight the importance of the engagement of the tourism sector in wildlife conservation in and close to protected areas. Text Canis lupus MDPI Open Access Publishing Cape Horn ENVELOPE(-135.021,-135.021,61.583,61.583) Animals 12 24 3564 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
camera-trapping Canis lupus familiaris Chile companion animal invasive predator protected area questionnaire South America wildlife management |
spellingShingle |
camera-trapping Canis lupus familiaris Chile companion animal invasive predator protected area questionnaire South America wildlife management Elke Schüttler Jaime E. Jiménez Are Tourists Facilitators of the Movement of Free-Ranging Dogs? |
topic_facet |
camera-trapping Canis lupus familiaris Chile companion animal invasive predator protected area questionnaire South America wildlife management |
description |
Dogs are the most abundant carnivores on earth and, as such, negatively impact wildlife. Free-ranging dogs roam in many protected areas, which in turn are often tourist destinations. Whether tourists influence their roaming is largely unexplored but highly relevant to wildlife conservation. To address this question, we obtained (i) 81 completed questionnaires from tourists on their experience with free-ranging dogs in the remote Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, Chile, and (ii) photographs of three camera-traps placed next to trekking trails (n = 87 trap days). A third of the participants were followed by dogs for up to four days, and 39% saw free-ranging dogs on their hikes, but neither feeding dogs nor fear of them had any influence on whether tourists were followed by dogs. Camera-traps yielded 53 independent dog sequences, recorded 32 individuals plus 14 unidentified dogs, of which only one was leashed, with a frequency of one dog every 28th person. In 17% of 53 sequences, dogs were photographed together with hikers carrying large backpacks for several-day trips. We conclude that tourists are facilitators for the movement of dogs and highlight the importance of the engagement of the tourism sector in wildlife conservation in and close to protected areas. |
format |
Text |
author |
Elke Schüttler Jaime E. Jiménez |
author_facet |
Elke Schüttler Jaime E. Jiménez |
author_sort |
Elke Schüttler |
title |
Are Tourists Facilitators of the Movement of Free-Ranging Dogs? |
title_short |
Are Tourists Facilitators of the Movement of Free-Ranging Dogs? |
title_full |
Are Tourists Facilitators of the Movement of Free-Ranging Dogs? |
title_fullStr |
Are Tourists Facilitators of the Movement of Free-Ranging Dogs? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Are Tourists Facilitators of the Movement of Free-Ranging Dogs? |
title_sort |
are tourists facilitators of the movement of free-ranging dogs? |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243564 |
op_coverage |
agris |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-135.021,-135.021,61.583,61.583) |
geographic |
Cape Horn |
geographic_facet |
Cape Horn |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Animals; Volume 12; Issue 24; Pages: 3564 |
op_relation |
Ecology and Conservation https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani12243564 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243564 |
container_title |
Animals |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
24 |
container_start_page |
3564 |
_version_ |
1774716543450480640 |