Habituation of wildlife to ecotourism: A COVID‐19 lockdown experiment in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica

Abstract

AbstractCorcovado National Park (CNP) in Costa Rica is an important destination for ecotourism. However, the effects of increasing human visitation on wildlife needed evaluation and the global COVID‐19 pandemic lockdown provided a scenario to test the effects of tourist activity on wildlife presence and activity. We performed a camera trap survey initiated during the COVID‐19 lockdown and continuing when tourism resumed (Oct 2020–May 2021). We deployed camera traps on walking trails, including those that remained closed to tourists at all times (control) and those open to tourists after the lockdown was lifted (experimental). With an effort of 2312 trap nights, we assessed the photo rates and diel activity patterns of humans, 11 other species of mammals, and two species of birds. Our results suggest that wildlife species were already habituated to tourists in this area, and thus their behavior and activity did not change after the lockdown was lifted.