Compassion Fatigue in Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) Caregivers: Prevalence, Contributing Factors, and Coping Mechanisms
Compassion fatigue (CF) refers to the exhaustion and distress caused by the demands of caring for others. CF occurs in a variety of helping professions, including physicians, nurses, educators, social workers and animal caregivers, and is known to adversely impact both caregivers’ quality of life and the care they provide. This study assessed the prevalence, […]
Body mass and growth rates in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) cared for in African wildlife sanctuaries, zoological institutions, and research facilities
Captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) mature earlier in body mass and have a greater growth rate compared to wild individuals. However, relatively little is known about how growth parameters compare between chimpanzees living in different captive environments. To investigate, body mass was measured in 298 African sanctuary chimpanzees and was acquired from 1030 zoological and 442 […]
Long-Term Assessment of Captive Chimpanzees: Influence of Social Group Composition, Seasonality and Biographic Background
Wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) live in flexible fission–fusion societies with frequent changes in both group size and composition. These changes depend mostly on resource availability and individual social preferences yet in captivity are determined by housing organizations. During a period of seven years, we observed a group of sanctuary chimpanzees, focusing on how they adapted […]
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in US zoos, sanctuaries, and research facilities: A survey-based comparison of species-typical behaviors
A survey was sent to zoos, research facilities, and sanctuaries which housed chimpanzees. Data collected included information about 1122 chimpanzees’ age, sex, social group-size, rearing history, and enclosure. Respondents were also asked to indicate if certain behaviors had been observed in each chimpanzee over the prior two years. Species- typical behaviors (STBs) were queried, including […]
Is Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) Wounding Frequency Affected by the Presence Versus Absence of Visitors? A Multi-Institutional Study
Visitor effect studies have had inconsistent results, due in part to the inability to control for all confounding variables such as time of day, seasonal weather patterns, and so forth. This study represents the first instance where chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) wounding frequencies were investigated across extensive time periods in the presence and complete absence of […]
Cognitive enrichment in a social setting: assessing the use of a novel food maze in sanctuary-housed chimpanzees
Foraging devices are effective enrichment tools for non-human primates, as they provide both cognitive and manipulative stimulation that may enhance these animals’ welfare. We assessed the behavioral effects of a novel tool-based enrichment on 14 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) housed at Fundació Mona (Girona, Spain). The device consisted of a vertical maze filled with food rewards, […]
Behavioural Development of Three Former Pet Chimpanzees a Decade after Arrival at the MONA Sanctuary
Chimpanzees used as pets and in the entertainment industry endure detrimental living conditions from early infancy onwards. The preferred option for ending their existence as pet or circus chimpanzees is their rescue and transfer to a primate sanctuary that will provide them with optimal living and social conditions, so that they can thrive. In this […]
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) show subtle signs of uncertainty when choices are more difficult
Humans can tell when they find a task difficult. Subtle uncertainty behaviors like changes in motor speed and muscle tension precede and affect these experiences. Theories of animal metacognition likewise stress the importance of endogenous signals of uncertainty as cues that motivate metacognitive behaviors. However, while researchers have investigated second-order behaviors like information seeking and […]
Behavioural diversity as a potential welfare indicator for professionally managed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Exploring variations in calculating diversity using species-specific behaviours
Behavioural diversity may serve as a positive indicator of animal welfare that can be applied in long-term monitoring schemes in managed settings (eg zoos, laboratories, farms). Behavioural diversity is often higher when animals live in stimulating environments and experience positive events. Unfortunately, welfare researchers have not adopted consistent, standardised approaches to measuring behavioural diversity. The […]