Don’t Fence Me In: Managing Psychological Well Being for Elite Performance Horses
This article posits that stereotypical behavior patterns and the overall psychological well being of today’s performance horse could be substantially enhanced with care that acknowledges the relationship between domesticated horses and their forerunners. Feral horses typically roam in stable, social groups over large grazing territories, spending 16-20 hr per day foraging on mid- to poor-quality […]
Variables Influencing the Origins of Diverse Abnormal Behaviors in a Large Sample of Captive Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
The developmental origin of abnormal behaviors is generally associated with early rearing environments that lack sufficient physical and sensory stimulation. However, other factors should also be considered. A large sample of captive chimpanzees (128 males and 140 females) was surveyed for the presence or absence of 18 abnormal behaviors. Origin variables included the subject’s source […]
Behavior, Appetite, and Urinary Cortisol Responses by Adult Female Pigtailed Macaques to Cage Size, Cage Level, Room Change, and Ketamine Sedation
Pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) and longtailed macaques (M. fascicularis) show behavioral, ecological, and possible temperament differences, and their responses to the laboratory environment might therefore be quite different. We tested pigtailed macaques under the same conditions that were investigated in a previous study with longtailed macaques, using the same comprehensive set of physiological and behavioral […]
Factors affecting wounding aggression in a colony of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20263.abs Previous research has suggested that chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) display higher levels of aggression in captivity than in the wild. One of the challenges of captive management, therefore, is to balance the chimpanzees’ need for social interaction with managements’ desire to minimize wounding and aggression. Various captive studies have examined the effects of individual […]
Videotapes as enrichment for captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Abstract 10.1002/1098-2361(2000)19:63.3.CO;2-V The effectiveness of showing videotapes to captive chimpanzees as an environmental enrichment was quantitatively tested. The responses of 10 subjects (3 adult males and 7 adult females) to videotapes of chimpanzees engaging in a variety of behaviors, to videotapes of other animals and humans, and to television programs were compared. Data collection consisted […]
Terrestrial predator alarm vocalizations are a valid monitor of stress in captive brown capuchins (Cebus apella)
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1999)18:43.3.CO;2-X The vocal behavior of captive animals is increasingly exploited as an index of well-being. Here we show that the terrestrial predator alarm (TPA) vocalization, a robust and acoustically distinctive anti-predation vocal response present in many mammal and bird species, offers useful information on the relative well-being and stress levels of captive animals. In […]
Comparison of confined mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) behavior in traditional and “ecologically representative” exhibits
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1999)18:33.3.CO;2-K Behavior in a confined group of mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) was compared before and after their move from a traditional, all indoor exhibit to an indoor/outdoor facility. The outdoor exhibit was designed to represent as well as is possible important features of the mandrills’ forest habitat. We predicted that activity budgets in the outdoor […]
Positive reinforcement training to enhance the voluntary movement of group-housed chimpanzees within their enclosures
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1998)17:43.3.CO;2-3 Positive reinforcement techniques were applied to train groups of chimpanzees to move voluntarily into the indoor portions of their enclosures at the request of trainers and to be briefly restricted to those areas. Subjects were 66 members of eight social groups, including 44 adults (14 males, 30 females), and 22 immatures (eight males, […]
Interactions among environmental enrichment, viewing crowds, and zoo chimpanzees (Pantroglodytes)
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1998)17:33.3.CO;2-K The primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not a group of zoo chimpanzees responded to environmental enrichment differently given higher weekend crowds in contrast to lower weekday crowds. Findings showed that foraging, feeding, and object-using were more likely with new enrichment; conversely, grooming, playing, watch-idle, and aberrant behaviors were […]
Problem of reptile play: Environmental enrichment and play behavior in a captive Nile soft-shelled turtle, Trionyx triunguis
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1996)15:33.3.CO;2-R Giving captive animals the opportunity to interact with objects in a “playful” manner is often considered a method of environmental enrichment. However, the occurrence of play in nonavian reptiles is controversial and poorly documented. Similarly, the role of environmental enrichment in fostering psychological well-being in reptiles has been little studied. For several years, […]