March 2016 MUET READING - Exercise 2 (Questions and Answer)

March 2016 MUET READING - Exercise 2 (Questions and Answer): 

Could nature tourism be bad for wild animals' health? It is an idea that has been suggested in a recent report that tested for stress hormones in orangutan excrement.

Researchers from the University of Indiana and eco-tourisn group Red Ape Encounters spend 14 years studying two apes in Sabah, Malaysia, which were used to seeing humans. By testing the animals' feces they found that the orangutans' stress levels were higher than normal the day after coming into contact with humans. "As for the unknown wild orangutans that we were also able to gather samples from, we found numerically, but not statistically, higher stress hormone levels in these animals following contact with researchers than in the rehabilitated animals, "said Micheal Muehlenbein, if the University of Indiana and one of the author of the report.

Muehlenbein is keen to point out that there was no indication from the study of any long-term changes in the behavior of the orangutans, as Red Ape Encounters limits the number of people on their tour to seven and the visits to one hour. Yet pathological effects like impaired congnition, growth and reproduction could be a consequence of less sensitive wildlife tours, believes Muehlenbein.

As the values of eco-tourism increases each year, so too do the chances of money being more important than animal welfare. However, Liz Macfie, gorilla coordinator for the wildlife conservation Society and co-author of the International Union for Conversation of Nature's (IUCN) "Best Practice Guidelines for Great Ape Tourism" Believes that most eco-tour companies are trying to do the right things

"More and more sites are trying hard to minimise the impact on the animals,," she said, pointing out the success of conservation and tourism projects with mountain gorillas in central Africa. "Mountain gorilla tourism is one of the reasons they have continued to flourish. They are the only sub-species of gorilla whose numbers is actually growing and they are visited by the tourist on a daily basis. "The gorillas are worth more to Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo because of the tourism. Not just the value of the rout, but the money the tourist then put into the local economy. So, they have a monetary value.

Yet Macfie is aware that only a limited number of sites could have the success seen with mountain gorillas. As long as travelers are aware of the environmental impact of the tours they take, and operators are adhering to the principles of the IUCN guidelines, Macfie believes that the growth in eco-tourism is generally positive.

"Tourist don't all want to drive around a Savannah park with hundreds of other vehicles, and I think that's the same with ape tourism," she said. Sometimes there can be over one hundred people crowded around feeding stations, looking at two or three orangutans that have come in. In that situation, there's great potential for disease transmission and interaction between humans and orangutans."

QUESTIONS: 

8. Stress Hormones can be found in animal feces.
A- True
B- False
C- Not stated

9.There are many wildlife tours  that consider the impact of human contact on orangutans
A- True
B- False
C- Not stated

10. Not many visitors are interested to go on wildlife tours.
A- True
B- False
C- Not stated

11. Eco-tourism companies are considered ethical although
A - There appears to be an impact on the animal welfare
B - Monetary considerations seem to outweigh the welfare of the animals
C - The Best Practice Guidelines for Great Ape Tourism are not strictly followed.

12. Paragraph 5 Illustrates the success story of
A - Conservation efforts and tourism
B - Inter-government effort and wildlife conservation
C - the breeding of animals and growing number of tourist sites

13. An increased number of tourist to savannah parks could lead to
A - Overfeeding of the apes
B - Too much interaction between humans and apes
C - the spread of diseases between humans and apes


14. What is Macfie's attitude towards eco-tourism in general?
A - She is optimistic about the development of eco-tourism.
B- She is apprehensive of tour operators' commitment to the IUCN guidelines
C- She is skeptical about the awareness of eco-tourist regarding the environment.

Answers: 
8. A (Answer is found in the second paragraph)

9. A (Answer is found in the fourth paragraph)

10. C (No information about the visitors are given)

11. A

12. A

13. C

14. A