Abstract: Effects of humans on the behaviors of wildlife are a focal issue for ethology and tourist numbers are an important factor that affects behaviors of captive wildlife in zoos. To improve welfare of captive wolves, we studied the effects of the tourist numbers on the behavior of captive wolves using group scan sampling before, during and after China’s National Day in Harbin Northern Forest Zoo from September to November in 2014. The proportions of active, static, conflict and stereotyped behaviors of captive wolves differed significantly among the three periods (P<0.05), while the proportions of friendly and other behaviors did not (P>0.05). The proportions of active and friendly behaviors of captive wolves were positively associated with the number of tourists significantly (P<0.05), while the proportions of static and stereotyped behaviors were negatively associated with number of tourists significantly (P<0.05). Proportions of conflict and other behaviors of captive wolves were not associated with number of tourists significantly (P>0.05). Our results indicate that tourist number affects the behaviors of the captive wolves in zoos and zoo managers could improve the welfare of captive wolves by managing tourist numbers.

Key words: faba bean fusarium wilt, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, functional diversity of soil microbial community