Evaluation of Sound Enrichment in the Behavior of Sapajus xanthosternos (Wied-Neuwied, 1826)(Primates: Cebidae) in Captivity
Techniques of environmental enrichment are used to ameliorate stress that captivity imposes on animals. They consist of modifications to the captive environment aiming to benefit the animals there present, providing for activities that are closer to their natural behavior, minimizing the occurrence of abnormal behaviors, expanding the behavioral repertoire, increasing positive exploration, and increasing their […]
Assessing Allostatic Load in Ring-Tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta)
Responses to stress are unavoidable, adaptive mechanisms in humans and non-human animals. However, in humans, chronic stress has been linked to poor health outcomes and early mortality. Allostatic load, the physiologic dysregulation that occurs when an organism is exposed to chronic stressors, has been used to assess stress in humans; less work has been done […]
Potential applications of personality assessments to the management of non-human primates: a review of 10 years of study
Studies of primate personality have become increasingly common over the past three decades. Recently, studies have begun to focus on the health, welfare and conservation implications of personality, and the potential applications of incorporating quantitative personality assessments into animal management programmes. However, this literature is dispersed across a multitude of settings and scientific disciplines. We […]
Training Nonhuman Primates Using Positive Reinforcement Techniques
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Probing the limits of tool competence: Experiments with two non-tool-using species (Cercopithecus aethiops and Saguinus oedipus)
Non-human animals vary in their ability to make and use tools. The goal of the present study was to further explore what, if anything, differs between tool-users and non-tool-users, and whether these differences lie in the conceptual or motor domain. We tested two species that typically do not use tools—cotton top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) and […]
The Effects of Caretaker–Primate Relationships on Primates in the Laboratory
As contact with caretakers is likely to make up the majority of human-primate interactions in laboratories, caretakers represent an important influence in the lives of captive primates. The aim of this study was to determine how caretaker-primate relationships affected the behavior of primates in the laboratory. We examined whether stump-tailed macaques (Macaca arctoides) who were […]
Restraint Methods of Laboratory Non-Human Primates: A Critical Review
Published information provides scientific evidence that traditional, involuntary restraint techniques of research non-human primates are intrinsically a source of distress resulting from fear. It has been documented that common methods of enforced restraint result in significantly increased adrenal activity as well as significant changes in a variety of other physiological parameters. There is no scientific […]
Space Requirement Stipulations for Caged Non-Human Primates in the United States: A Critical Review
Cage space requirements for non-human primates in the United States of America are less than those in European countries. Studies in support of the assumption that the US legal minimum cage size provides adequate space have limited value because they only tested cages without structural enhancement. It is not surprising that non-human primates cannot be […]
Computer-assisted enrichment for zoo-housed orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus)
The study of environmental enrichment has identified a variety of effective forms of enrichment, but there are widespread problems associated with their use. Few forms of enrichment are cognitively challenging, and even the most effective often result in rapid habituation. This study examined the use of a computer-joystick system, designed to increase in complexity with […]
Object permanence in orangutans, gorillas, and black-and-white ruffed lemurs
This study examined object permanence in Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii), Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and black-and-white-ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) at Zoo Atlanta. A literature review reveals two main issues with object permanence research in non-human primates. One of the issues is that it is difficult to make valid comparisons between different species because […]