Learning about biodiversity loss: short-term and follow-up impacts of a special zoo education program

Biodiversity loss is a pressing problem, making it crucial to raise awareness of this issue. Zoos are well-positioned to do so. The effectiveness of a two-and-a-half-hour zoo program that integrated five main drivers of biodiversity loss was evaluated by assessing participants’ knowledge about the causes of biodiversity loss before and after the program. Additionally, connection to nature, interest in species conservation, species protection attitude, and animal protection attitude were evaluated. Follow-up effects were assessed about one month later. After the tour, participants listed invasive species, climate change, and overexploitation as drivers of biodiversity loss considerably more frequently than before. Interest in species conservation and species protection attitudes increased significantly in the short term. During the follow-up interval, connection to nature increased, while the other variables returned to their baseline values. However, pairwise comparisons revealed no significant differences between the measurement points in the follow-up dataset. Regarding the drivers of biodiversity loss, there were non-significant indications of knowledge retention at follow-up. Further research might concentrate on the long-term effects of repeated participation in zoo education, behavioral effects, and how people perceive species protection compared to animal protection.