Human–marmoset interactions in a city park

Urban wildlife, frequently, comes into contact with human city dwellers and these interactions can be viewed positively or negatively by people. In the city of Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais, Brazil) many city parks have groups of black-tufted marmosets (Callithrix penicillata), which interact with park visitors. In this study we observed 205 separate groups of people interacting with marmosets (using the ad libitum method) and interviewed 408 groups of park visitors, using a questionnaire, concerning their attitudes towards urban marmosets. Our data showed that in the afternoon period human–marmoset interactions were frequent (4/h), involved marmosets on tree substrates and could involve many people (maximum = 48). In terms of interactions, the majority of interactions involved people taking photographs of the marmosets, trying to make physical contact with the marmosets and relatively few interactions involved feeding by the humans (<3%). Questionnaire data from interviews showed that marmosets were viewed very ‘positively’ by the public, and were perceived as having “friendly” behaviour (96%). While the majority of people did not feed marmosets (<3%) or admit to feeding marmosets (<6%), a significant number of people thought that the marmosets in the park were “starving” and that food should be offered by qualified professionals (38%). Our interviews with people who interacted or not with marmosets indicated that there were, apparently, no human visitors in the park who actively avoided the marmosets. The vast majority of the public considered the urban marmosets to be a source of “entertainment” for them and, if applicable, their children (98%). In conclusion, in this city park there was no perceptible conflict between urban marmosets and people.