Our Faculty
Designated Assistant Professor (Young Leaders Cultivation Program)：PEREIRA COSTA Raquel Filomena
From the wild to captivity, I investigate the interactions between humans and apes. This research has shown that close proximity between humans and wild animals in ecotourism sites increases stress and aggression in wild apes, posing risks to their well-being and raising concerns about disease transmission. However, in zoos, these interactions can also enrich the lives of animals and provide educational opportunities for visitors. I am particularly interested in understanding why we struggle to interpret animal behavior and how poor communication and negative human-animal interactions may be at the root of such conflicts. Through this understanding, we aim to promote animal welfare, raise public awareness, support the One Health approach, and contribute to broader nature conservation efforts.
Links:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Raquel-Costa
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2631-4027
Major papers
Costa, R., Xu, S., Brandão, A., & Hayashi, M. (2025). Reconnection with nature through empathy: rewiring people and animals by assessing zoo visitors’ connection to species and the need for their conservation. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1517430.
Costa, R., Brandao, A. & Hayashi, M. (2024). The behavioral sequences of mountain gorillas under tourism pressure – insights for tourism sustainability. Primates Conservation, IUCN Special Group, 37 (37): 121-133.
Costa, R., Tomonaga, M., Huffman, M. A., Takeshita, R., Bercovitch, F., Kalema‐Zikusoka, G., & Hayashi, M. (2023) The impact of tourist visits on mountain gorilla behavior in Uganda. Journal of Ecotourism, 1-19.
Costa, R., Romano, V., Pereira, A. S., Hart, J. D., MacIntosh, A., & Hayashi, M. (2022). Mountain gorillas benefit from social distancing too: Close proximity from tourists affects gorillas’ sociality. Conservation Science and Practice, 5(1), e12859.