Public support as a key element for fauna conservation in Maquiné and Rei do Mato show caves

Abstract

Once the public support is a key element for the show cave maintenance, we aimed to understand environmental behavior and perception from visitors at Maquiné and Rei do Mato show caves to help on building more informative visits. We used data from questionnaires applied to show caves visitors. School excursions (44.3%) had a high contribution on bringing visitors and providing the first direct contact with caves. Regarding the way participants constructed a context about life in the caves and the need for their conservation, although bats (70.1%) and insects (40.6%) were properly referred as the main cave dwellers, obligate cave fauna was not mentioned (troglobitic). The perception of the link among landscape and cave conservation (42.1%) and necessity of educational practices (29.6%) were prevalent. Based on the environmental behavior and acceptance of participants, the use of more instructive visits was suggested in order to provide a broader view of the environment for the cave tourists and then induce more interest by the preservation of those unique and endangered habitats. Moreover, pedagogical exercises provided inside the cave environment can lead visitors to appropriate from environmental education issues and therefore apply them in the practices developed in the caves of Brazil.