Abstract
The outcomes of human-wildlife interactions depend largely on how animals are perceived by humans. All American primates are forest specialists, but due to habitat loss they are increasingly using urban areas. However, relatively little is known about people’s perceptions of urban primates in American cities. Our goals were to (1) determine the locations used by black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) in the city of Palenque, Mexico; (2) describe the perceptions of citizens about the monkeys; (3) identify current and potential risks faced by the monkeys; and (4) describe the opinions and actions of key stakeholders regarding the management of the urban monkeys. We administered questionnaires to 85 citizens, verified howler monkey locations, and interviewed key stakeholders. Citizens identified >40 locations and identified several risks to the monkeys, including electrocution, road accidents, and dog attacks. Most people (58%) mentioned that howler monkeys were food-provisioned; tourism was the most-commonly identified benefit of the urban monkeys to the community. Key stakeholders reported that the risks faced by urban monkeys are worrying because of the new railway project (“Tren Maya”), which is likely to cause urban expansion in the region. In general, citizens’ perceptions of urban howler monkeys in Palenque are currently positive. These results indicate that human-howler monkey coexistence in Palenque might be possible if context-specific policies concentrate on minimizing the risks to both primates and humans and involve multiple stakeholders in decision-making. Policy recommendations that arose from our case study include insulating electricity cables, increasing arboreal connectivity, and promoting peer-learned positive practices.
Abstract (Spanish translation)
Los resultados de las interacciones entre humanos y fauna silvestre dependen en gran medida de cómo los humanos perciben a estos animales. Todos los primates del continente americano dependen de los bosques, pero, debido a la pérdida de hábitat, usan cada vez más las zonas urbanas. Sin embargo, se sabe relativamente poco sobre las percepciones de las personas sobre los primates en zonas urbanas de las ciudades de América. Nuestros objetivos fueron (1) determinar los sitios usados por los monos aulladores negros (Alouatta pigra) en la ciudad de Palenque, México; (2) describir las percepciones de las y los ciudadanos sobre los monos; (3) identificar los riesgos actuales y potenciales que enfrentan los monos; y (4) describir las opiniones y acciones de un grupo de actores clave con respecto al manejo de los monos en la zona urbana. Administramos cuestionarios a 85 ciudadanos, verificamos los sitios usados por los monos aulladores y entrevistamos a un grupo de actores clave. Las y los ciudadanos identificaron más de 40 sitios e identificaron varios riesgos para los monos, como electrocución, accidentes de tráfico y ataques de perros. La mayoría de las y los ciudadanos (58%) mencionó que los monos aulladores fueron alimentados por personas; el turismo fue el mayor beneficio identificado por la comunidad de Palenque asociado a que los monos se encuentren en la zona urbana. El grupo de actores clave informaron que los riesgos que enfrentan los monos en la zona urbana son preocupantes debido al nuevo proyecto ferroviario (Tren Maya), que probablemente provocará la expansión urbana en la región. En general, las percepciones de las y los ciudadanos sobre los monos aulladores en la zona urbana de Palenque actualmente son positivas. Estos resultados indican que la coexistencia entre humanos y monos aulladores en Palenque podría ser posible si las políticas contexto-específicas se centran en minimizar los riesgos tanto para los primates como para los humanos e involucran a múltiples partes interesadas en la toma de decisiones. A partir de nuestro estudio de caso, sugerimos las recomendaciones políticas siguientes: aislar los cables eléctricos, aumentar la conectividad arbórea y promover prácticas positivas aprendidas entre pares.
*The translated abstract was not copy-edited by Springer Nature.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albuquerque, U. P., Borda do Nascimento, A. L., da Silva Chaves, L., Soares Feitosa, I., Brito de Moura, J. M., Santos Gonçalves, P. H., et al (2019). How to partner with people in ecological research: Challenges and prospects. Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, 17(4), 193–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PECON.2019.11.004.
Alesci, M., Smith, R. L., Ayala Santacruz, J. D., & Camperio Ciani, A. (2022). Attitudes towards urban howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) in Paraguay. Primates, 63(2), 161–171. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10329-022-00975-5.
Allen, M. (2017). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483381411.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211.
Back, J. P., & Bicca-Marques, J. C. (2019). Supplemented howler monkeys eat less wild fruits, but do not change their activity budgets. American Journal of Primatology, 81(9), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23051.
Becker, D. J., Streicker, D. G., & Altizer, S. (2018). Using host species traits to understand the consequences of resource provisioning for host–parasite interactions. Journal of Animal Ecology, 87(2), 511–525. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12765.
Benítez, J. A., Pozo-Montuy, G., Alexander, S. M., & Vargas-Contreras, J. A. (2021). Impacto de la vía férrea y del crecimiento turístico asociado al Tren Maya: medidas de mitigación y cambios al diseño para las reservas de Calakmul y Balam-kú. In J. Benítez & G. Escalona-Segura (Eds.), Impacto de las vías de comunicación sobre la fauna silvestre en áreas protegidas. Estudio de caso para el suresta de Mexico (pp. 576–634). El Colegio de Frontera Sur.
Berkström, C., Papadopoulos, M., Jiddawi, N. S., & Nordlund, L. M. (2019). Fishers’ Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) on connectivity and seascape management. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 130. https://doi.org/10.3389/FMARS.2019.00130.
Bhatia, S., Redpath, S. M., Suryawanshi, K., & Mishra, C. (2020). Beyond conflict: exploring the spectrum of human–wildlife interactions and their underlying mechanisms. Oryx, 54(5), 621–628. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003060531800159X.
Bingham, A. J., & Witkowsky, P. (2022). Deductive and inductive approaches to qualitative data analysis. In C. Vanover, P. Mihas, & J. Saldaña (Eds.), Analyzing and interpreting qualitative data: After the interview (pp. 133–146). SAGE Publications.
Boug, A., Islam, M. Z.-u., Iwamoto, T., Mori, A., Yamane, A., & Schreier, A. L. (2017). The relationship between artificial food supply and natural food selection in two troops of commensal hamadryas baboons Papio hamadryas (Mammalia: Primates: Cercopithecidae) in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 9(10), 10741–10756. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3348.9.10.10741-10756.
Buijs, A., & Jacobs, M. (2021). Avoiding negativity bias: Towards a positive psychology of human–wildlife relationships. Ambio, 50(2), 281–288. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-020-01394-w.
Carter, N. H., & Linnell, J. D. C. (2016). Co-adaptation is key to coexisting with large carnivores. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.05.006
Ceballos, G., Ehrlich, P. R., Barnosky, A. D., García, A., Pringle, R. M., & Palmer, T. M. (2015). Accelerated modern human-induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction. Science Advances, 1(5), e1400253. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1400253.
Chaves, Ó. M., Júnior, J. C. S., Buss, G., Hirano, Z. M. B., Jardim, M. M. A., Amaral, E. L. S., et al (2021). Wildlife is imperiled in peri-urban landscapes: threats to arboreal mammals. Science of the Total Environment, 821, 152883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152883.
Collins, M. K., Magle, S. B., & Gallo, T. (2021). Global trends in urban wildlife ecology and conservation. Biological Conservation, 261, 109236. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BIOCON.2021.109236.
Corrêa, F. M., Chaves, Ó. M., Printes, R. C., & Romanowski, H. P. (2018). Surviving in the urban–rural interface: Feeding and ranging behavior of brown howlers (Alouatta guariba clamitans) in an urban fragment in southern Brazil. American Journal of Primatology, 80(6), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22865.
Cortes-Ortíz, L., Rosales-Meda, M., Marsh, L.K. & Mittermeier, R.A. (2020). Alouatta pigra. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T914A17926000. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T914A17926000.en. Accessed on 15 October 2022.
Cunneyworth, P. M. K., & Slade, A. M. (2021). Impact of electric shock and electrocution on populations of four monkey species in the suburban town of Diani, Kenya. International Journal of Primatology, 42(2), 171–186. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10764-020-00194-Z.
Dias, P. A. D., Coyohua-Fuentes, A., Canales-Espinosa, D., & Rangel-Negrín, A. (2015). Group structure and dynamics in black howlers (Alouatta pigra): A 7-year perspective. International Journal of Primatology, 36, 311–331.
Dittus, W. P. J. (2020). Shields on electric posts prevent primate deaths: A case study at Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. Folia Primatologica, 91(6), 643–653. https://doi.org/10.1159/000510176.
Domínguez Bermúdez, L. R. (2021). Primates de México, especies prioritarias para la conservación. Palenque.
Estrada, A. (2014). Reintroduction of the scarlet macaw (Ara macao cyanoptera) in the tropical rainforests of Palenque, Mexico: Project design and first year progress. Tropical Conservation Science, 7(3), 342–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/194008291400700301.
Frank, B., Glikman, J. A., & Marchini, S. (2019). Human–wildlife interactions: Turning conflict into coexistence. Human-Wildlife Interactions: Turning Conflict into Coexistence, 1–464. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108235730.
Frey, B. B. (2018). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781506326139.
Gessa, S. J., Rothman, J. M., & Simplicious Gessa, C. J. (2021). The importance of message framing in rule compliance by visitors during wildlife tourism. Conservation Science and Practice, 3(10), e515. https://doi.org/10.1111/CSP2.515.
Gregory, T., Carrasco-Rueda, F., Alonso, A., Kolowski, J., & Deichmann, J. L. (2017). Natural canopy bridges effectively mitigate tropical forest fragmentation for arboreal mammals. Scientific Reports 2017, 7(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04112-x.
Hill, C. M. (2021). Conflict is integral to human-wildlife coexistence. Frontiers in Conservation Science, 69. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2021.734314.
INEGI. (2010). Censo de Población y Vivienda 2010. https://www.inegi.org.mx/programas/ccpv/2010/#Tabulados
INEGI. (2020). Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020. https://www.inegi.org.mx/programas/ccpv/2020/
Ives, C. D., Lentini, P. E., Threlfall, C. G., Ikin, K., Shanahan, D. F., Garrard, G. E., et al (2016). Cities are hotspots for threatened species. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 25(1), 117–126. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12404.
Joa, B., Winkel, G., & Primmer, E. (2018). The unknown known – A review of local ecological knowledge in relation to forest biodiversity conservation. Land Use Policy, 79, 520–530. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LANDUSEPOL.2018.09.001.
Katsis, L., Cunneyworth, P. M. K., Turner, K. M. E., & Presotto, A. (2018). Spatial patterns of primate electrocutions in Diani, Kenya. International Journal of Primatology, 39(4), 493–510.
König, H. J., Kiffner, C., Kramer-Schadt, S., Fürst, C., Keuling, O., & Ford, A. T. (2020). Human–wildlife coexistence in a changing world. Conservation Biology, 34(4), 786–794.
Kowalewski, M. M., Garber, P. A., Cortés-Ortiz, L., Urbani, B., Youlatos, D., & (Eds.). (2014). Howler monkeys: behavior, ecology, and conservation. Springer.
Lappan, S., Malaivijitnond, S., Radhakrishna, S., Riley, E. P., & Ruppert, N. (2020). The human–primate interface in the New Normal: Challenges and opportunities for primatologists in the COVID-19 era and beyond. American Journal of Primatology, 82(8). https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23176.
Leite, G. C., Duarte, M. H., & Young, R. J. (2011). Human–marmoset interactions in a city park. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 132(3-4), 187–192.
Lokschin, L. X., Cambará Printes, R., Hallal Cabral, J. N., & Buss, G. (2007). Power lines and howler monkey conservation in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Neotropical Primates, 14(2), 76–80.
Loría, L. I., Gallina, S., Serio Silva, J. C., & Riley, E. P. (2021). Farmers’ perceptions of white-faced capuchins (Cebus imitator) and human–primate coexistence in rural communities of Renacimiento District, Chiriquí Province, Panama. International Journal of Primatology, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-021-00244-0.
Maibeche, Y., Moali, A., Yahi, N., & Menard, N. (2015). Is diet flexibility an adaptive life trait for relictual and peri-urban populations of the endangered primate Macaca sylvanus? PLoS ONE, 10(2), e0118596. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118596.
Majolo, B., de Bortoli Vizioli, A., & Lehmann, J. (2016). The effect of intergroup competition on intragroup affiliation in primates. Animal Behaviour, 114, 13–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ANBEHAV.2016.01.009.
Marchini, S., Ferraz, K. M. P. M. B. P. M. B., Zimmermann, A., Guimarãesluiz, T., Morato, R., Correa, P. L. P. P., et al. (2019). Planning for Coexistence in a Complex Human-Dominated World. In Human-Wildlife Interactions: Turning Conflict into Coexistence (pp. 414–438). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108235730.022
Marchini, S., Ferraz, K. M. P. M. B., Foster, V., Reginato, T., Kotz, A., Barros, Y., Zimmermann, A., & Macdonald, D. W. (2021). Planning for human-wildlife coexistence: Conceptual framework, workshop process, and a model for transdisciplinary collaboration. Frontiers in Conservation Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2021.752953.
Maréchal, L., Semple, S., Majolo, B., & MacLarnon, A. (2016). Assessing the effects of tourist provisioning on the health of wild barbary macaques in Morocco. PLOS ONE, 11(5), e0155920. https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0155920
Mares-Guia, M. A. M. M., Horta, M. A., Romano, A., Rodrigues, C. D. S., Mendonça, M. C. L., dos Santos, C. C., et al (2020). Yellow fever epizootics in non-human primates, Southeast and Northeast Brazil (2017 and 2018). Parasites & Vectors, 13(1), 90. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-3966-x.
Marty, P. R., Balasubramaniam, K. N., Kaburu, S. S. K., Hubbard, J., Beisner, B., Bliss-Moreau, E., et al (2020). Individuals in urban dwelling primate species face unequal benefits associated with living in an anthropogenic environment. Primates, 61(2), 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-019-00775-4.
McDonald, R. I., Mansur, A. V., Ascensão, F., Colbert, M., Crossman, K., Elmqvist, T., et al (2020). Research gaps in knowledge of the impact of urban growth on biodiversity. Nature Sustainability, 3, 16–24. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0436-6.
Montilla, S. O., Rios-Soto, J. A., Mantilla-Castaño, J. C., Patiño-Siro, D., Bustamante-Manrique, S., Botero-Henao, N., et al (2020). Eventos de electrocución de Aotus lemurinus (Primates: Aotidae) en los Andes Centrales de Colombia. Mammalogy Notes, 6(2), 183. https://doi.org/10.47603/mano.v6n2.183.
Mormile, J. E., & Hill, C. M. (2017). Living with urban baboons: Exploring attitudes and their implications for local baboon conservation and management in Knysna, South Africa. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 22(2), 99–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2016.1255919
Patterson, L., Kalle, R., & Downs, C. (2017). A citizen science survey: perceptions and attitudes of urban residents towards vervet monkeys. Urban Ecosystems, 20(3), 617–628. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-016-0619-0.
Pooley, S., Bhatia, S., & Vasava, A. (2021). Rethinking the study of human–wildlife coexistence. Conservation Biology, 35(3), 784–793. https://doi.org/10.1111/COBI.13653.
Pragatheesh, A. (2011). Effect of human feeding on the road mortality of rhesus macaques on National Highway - 7 routed along Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 3(4), 1656–1662. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2669.1656-62.
Riley, E. P. (2007). The human – macaque interface: Conservation implications of current and future overlap and conflict in Lore Lindu National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia. American Anthropologist, 109(3), 473–484. https://doi.org/10.1525/AA.2007.109.3.473.474.
Rodrigues, N. N., & Martinez, R. A. (2014). Wildlife in our backyard: interactions between Wied’s marmoset Callithrix kuhlii (Primates: Callithrichidae) and residents of Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil. Wildlife Biology, 20(2), 91–96. https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.13057.
Sabbatini, G., Stammati, M., Tavares, M. C. H., Giuliani, M. V., & Visalberghi, E. (2006). Interactions between humans and capuchin monkeys (Cebus libidinosus) in the Parque Nacional de Brasília, Brazil. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 97(2–4), 272–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2005.07.002.
Saj, T., Sicotte, P., & Paterson, J. D. (1999). Influence of human food consumption on the time budget of vervets. International Journal of Primatology, 20(6), 977–994. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020886820759.
Sánchez-Murillo, F., & Arguedas, R. (2021). Blood analytes of electrocuted mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) in the Nicoya peninsula of Costa Rica. Journal of Medical Primatology, 50(5), 231–239. https://doi.org/10.1111/JMP.12533.
Scheun, J., Greeff, D., & Nowack, J. (2019). Urbanisation as an important driver of nocturnal primate sociality. Primates, 60(4), 375–381. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-019-00725-0
Schnetler, A. K., Radloff, F. G. T., & O’Riain, M. J. (2021). Medium and large mammal conservation in the city of Cape Town: factors influencing species richness in urban nature reserves. Urban Ecosystems, 24(2), 215–232. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11252-020-01027-W.
SEGOB. (1993). Diario Oficial de la Federacion. http://diariooficial.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=4811163&fecha=09/12/1993#gsc.tab=0. Accessed on 15 August 2022.
Sha, J. C. M., Gumert, M. D., Lee, B. P. Y. H., Jones-Engel, L., Chan, S., & Fuentes, A. (2009). Macaque-Human interactions and the societal perceptions of macaques in Singapore. American Journal of Primatology, 71(10), 825–839. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20710.
Soto-Calderón, I. D., Acevedo-Garcés, Y. A., Álvarez-Cardona, J., Hernández-Castro, C., & García-Montoya, G. M. (2016). Physiological and parasitological implications of living in a city: the case of the white-footed tamarin (Saguinus leucopus). American Journal of Primatology, 78(12), 1272–1281. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22581.
Suzin, A., Back, J. P., Garey, M. V., & Aguiar, L. M. (2017). The relationship between humans and capuchins (Sapajus sp.) in an urban green area in Brazil. International Journal of Primatology, 38(6), 1058–1071. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-017-9996-3
Teixeira, F. Z., Kindel, A., Alegre, P., & Brasil, R. A. (2013). Canopy bridges as road overpasses for wildlife in urban fragmented landscapes. Biota Neotropica, 13(1), 117–123.
Woodroffe, R., & Redpath, S. M. (2015). When the hunter becomes the hunted. Science, 348(6241), 1312–1314. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa8465.
Acknowledgments
Our deepest gratitude to the citizens of Palenque for their participation in the survey. We thank J. Sánchez Baños for introducing us to important stakeholders, sharing information, and for collaborating on this project. We also thank L. Cortés and A. Martín del Campo for their support and feedback during data collection, S. Herrera Goméz for help designing the figures, and the Associate Editor, Editor, and four anonymous reviewers for comments that greatly improved the manuscript. MF-S thanks DGAPA-UNAM for a postdoctoral fellowship.
Authorship contributions
MF-S and DS originally formulated the ideas. MF-S, DS, and AH-J collected the data. MF-S and DS analyzed the data. MF-S, DS, AH-J, and EA wrote and reviewed the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Inclusion and Diversity Statement
One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Handling Editor: Carolyn Jost Robinson
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Franquesa-Soler, M., Spaan, D., Hernández-Jaramillo, A. et al. Citizen’s Perceptions of Urban Black Howler Monkeys (Alouatta pigra) in the City of Palenque (Mexico): A Case Study to Aid Policy Decisions. Int J Primatol 44, 357–376 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-022-00339-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-022-00339-2