Grooming, kinship, and co-feeding in captive spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1029.abs Allo-grooming is perhaps the most powerful affiliative behavior observed in non-human primates. However, the functional significance of grooming in New World monkeys has not yet been fully understood, perhaps because grooming is less frequently observed in platyrrhines. To differentiate the potential role of affiliative investment and/or kinship on sharing access to food (co-feeding) […]
Reproductive biology of captive and free-ranging spider monkeys
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430090102.abs Records from 42 zoos and from long-term studies of wild populations were analysed to describe the reproductive biology of spider monkeys (Ateles spp.). Both data sets suggested that spider monkey females typically have their first infant between 7 and 8 years of age with an interbirth interval of approximately 32–36 months. Infant sex […]
Patterns of injury in zoo-housed spider monkeys: A problem with males?
Aggression among wild spider monkeys is most frequently reported to occur between the sexes, with adult males directing aggression towards adult females and the aggression is normally non-injurious. After two severe instances of aggression in the group of spider monkeys housed at Chester Zoo, we developed a questionnaire to investigate the frequency, direction and possible […]
Captive Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) Arm-raise to Solicit Allo-grooming
Old World monkeys solicit allo-grooming from conspecifics. However, there are relatively few studies of allo-grooming among spider monkeys, and descriptions of allo-grooming solicitation among spider monkeys are anecdotal. In this study, eighty-one hours of video, shot over eight weeks, captured 271 allogrooming bouts among small groups of captive spider monkeys. Six of eight monkeys made […]
Interspecific Infanticide and Infant-Directed Aggression by Spider Monkeys (Ateles hybridus) in a Fragmented Forest in Colombia
Interspecific aggression amongst nonhuman primates is rarely observed and has been mostly related to scenarios of resource competition. Interspecific infanticide is even rarer, and both the ultimate and proximate socio-ecological factors explaining this behavior are still unclear. We report two cases of interspecific infanticide and five cases of interspecific infant-directed aggression occurring in a well-habituated […]