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

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.

Automated summary

Biodiversity is declining due to destructive and unsustainable human activity. Nature-based tourism, supported by scientific research, can replace income generated by unsustainable practices. A study on Hoolock tianxing gibbons in China found that the presence of tourists led to increased scanning behavior and less resting time for the gibbons, with the effects becoming more pronounced with larger numbers of tourists. However, there was no difference in overall daily activity budgets between individuals exposed to tourism and those exposed to research teams, suggesting that behavioral changes are limited to the presence of tourists.