Capuchinmonkeyson Social Media

A Threat for Species Conservation

Bibliographic Data

ID2162402
AuthorsVitória Fernandes Nunes (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte), Priscila F M Lopes (0000-0002-6774-5117, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte), Renata Gonçalves Ferreira (0000-0002-0843-3965, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte)
Year2023
Volume36
Issue4
Pages665-683
Publication date2023-07-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthrozoös (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0892-7936 • E-ISSN: 1753-0377
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08927936.2023.2210440
OpenAlexW4377692619
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited63

There remains a debate as to whether the display of wild animals in popular media, such as the Internet, contributes toward or erodes conservation behavior. A good model to assess these impacts are capuchin monkeys (genera Cebus and Sapajus), given that they have historically been traded as pets internationally and are among Hollywood’s most famous primate actors. We used crowdsourcing tools to survey social media posts (YouTube and Instagram) and news/reports (on Google) to investigate how these primates are currently portrayed on the Internet. We found 1138 capuchin-related videos on YouTube, and the ones with more than 1 million views mainly (71%) portrayed these animals as pets. Searches on Instagram identified that #capuchinmonkey had 39,000 more posts than #Cebus or #Sapajus, of which the top results (those that generated the most engagement) were posts of individuals in anthropogenic environments and/or close to humans. Our Google search identified an exponential growth of news related to the legal and illegal pet trade of capuchin monkeys since 2017, which could be related to the increase on the reach and engagement of social media posts with these primates as pets. Poor scientific knowledge or interest, along with engagement with exotic pet trade content among Internet users, may lead to negative consequences for species conservation. Given the threats facing both capuchin monkeys and other animals, including increasing habitat fragmentation and loss, it is essential to establish clear policies surrounding wildlife content management on social media

Advertising · Animal welfare · Biology · Business · Crowdsourcing · Geography · Internet privacy · Political science · Social media · The Internet · Wildlife · World Wide Web · Animal and Plant Science Education · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior · Computer Science · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Ecology

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