Susana Costa’s scientific contributions

In the early hours of July 19 (2020) in Santo Tirso (Portugal), a forest fire hit two illegal companion animal shelters. Half a hundred died. Hundred and ten non-humans were rescued alive. The information conveyed by the media potentially suggests an animal hoarding case. Based on the Facebook posts of two of the largest Portuguese organizations standing for animal rights related to the incident, we tried to understand how they and their followers reacted to the event. The analysis was done based on content analysis techniques. The results suggest that both the organizations concerned and their followers perceived the event as a criminal act. Despite the available information, the possibility of an animal hoarding case was never mentioned in the posts on the analyzed pages or in the comments of their followers.

Abstracts of the 7th Iberian Congress of Primatology 8th Congress of the Portuguese Primatology Association 12th Congress of the Spanish Primatology Association Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal, October 9-11, 2019

7th Iberian Congress of Primatology “Empathy, Education and Conservation: Primates in a Shared World” 8th Congress of the Portuguese Primatology Association 12th Congress of the Spanish Primatology Association Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal, October 9-11, 2019

Social perceptions and how they interfere with the way humans see nonhumans Social perceptions are composed of two different factors: (i) the individual and his/her cognitive abilities and (ii) the cultural context where he/she lives. This last factor comprises values, norms, beliefs (e.g. religion) and attitudes that were already operating in the society where the subject was raised (Deth & Scarbrought, 1998). To be accepted, one has to learn the features of his/her culture (Giddens, 2000). Therefore, social training is needed in order to transform the ‘savage’ into a ‘civilized’ creature (Lévi-Strauss, 1966). Socialization allows us to perceive the objects around us that – once cognitively captured – are organized with respect to our culture’s patterns (Yerbyt & Leyens, 2004; Baron et al., 2007; Smith & Mackie, 2007). An individual absorbs what surrounds him/her and organizes his/her perceptions – regarding his/her cultural context – in order to be accepted by the other members of the society (Giddens, 2000). This is how we learn our place in the world and – as a result – how we are positioned in relation to other humans, nonhumans and the environment (Arluke & Sanders, 1996; Serpell, 1996; Costa et al., 2013).

The world’s natural forests, whose rich ecosystems support wildlife and human populations, are declining and facing unprecedented changes. As human population rises and globalization disrupts local and more traditional communities around the planet, the fate of biodiversity seems condemned. It is people’s behaviour and the economic and political factors (ethnosphere) who will determine the survival of wildlife and forests. We assessed how local communities living inside the Cantanhez Forest National Park (hereafter CFNP) in Guinea-Bissau Republic (hereafter GB) perceived their faunal and floral millieux. We provide a background context of GB and our study site. During data collection we used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Survey questionnaires and interviews were conducted. Regarding the way individuals perceive other animals, we found that aesthetically values of animals overlap survival/economic concerns being the most beautiful animals (e.g. gazelle) simultaneously the most edible. Chimpanzees are considered to be ugly, non-edible and are seen as the non human most similar to humans. Many respondents can not conceive the notion of extinction (of forests and wildlife). Reasons for this will be discussed and final remarks presented. Key-words: Guinea-Bissau; human dominated landscape; non human primate conservation, local perceptions of wildlife.