The Development of an Operant Conditioning Training Program for New World Primates at the Bronx Zoo
This article describes the development of an operant conditioning training program for 17 species of New World primates at the Bronx Zoo. To apply less invasive techniques to husbandry protocols, the study introduced behaviors-hand feeding, syringe feeding, targeting, scale and crate training, and transponder reading-for formal training to 86 callitrichids and small-bodied cebids housed in […]
Use of levonorgestrel as an effective means of contraception in the white-faced saki (Pithecia pithecia)
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.10006.abs This study examines the use levonorgestrel (Norplant®-2) as a means of contracepting white-faced sakis (Pithecia pithecia). A 70-mg silastic tubule of levonorgestrel was implanted subdermally between the scapulae in four multiparous and two nulliparous females. Implants remained in the females housed with males of proven fertility for 81 to 734 days. All females […]
Assessment of adrenocortical and gonadal hormones in male spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) following capture, restraint and anesthesia
The spider monkey (SM) (Ateles geoffroyi) a New World primate species native to Mexican forests, has become endangered in the wild due to environmental perturbations. Little is known about adrenal function and its relationship to reproduction in this species. Our objectives were to assess serum glucocorticoid (GC), mineralocorticoid (MC) and testosterone concentrations in captive SM […]