PPS PEOPLE in the SPOTLIGHT
Meet Volunteer Anne
Anne has been an Animal Caretaker Volunteer for almost two years and has proven to be an incredible asset to Pacific Primate Sanctuary. Highly organized, and eager to learn, Anne‘s training was a breeze! She has a great thirst for knowledge, and is happy to tackle any new task that comes her way. From cleaning the food cupboards, to pruning a Greenroom, to power washing an enclosure – no task is ever too much for her to master. Anne is one of the few volunteers who is fully trained for the AM shift, PM shift, and Emergency Care. She volunteers at PPS 2 days each week, Wednesday mornings, as well as Sunday afternoons with her daughter, Morgan. In addition, she is always one first in line to volunteer for any special events. Anne constantly has a smile on her face, and a positive attitude. She is truly a joy to the monkeys and people at the Sanctuary!
SPECIAL THANKS
Thank you to PPS Board Members Linda, Dr. Bud, Jennifer, Lucy, and Erin for getting together to discuss Sanctuary business. Thank you all for your advice, support and selfless service. Special Thanks to Linda, our treasurer and bookkeeper for getting all of our book keeping up to date, and to Jennifer for writing up the minutes from the Board Meeting so promptly.
Mahalo Nui Loa (Thank you very much!) to our Interns and PPS Volunteers who provide almost $100,000 a year in donated labor to Pacific Primate Sanctuary. We are an entirely volunteer organization and the Sanctuary could not operate without you!
Thank you to everyone who helped get the Holiday Postcards sent out. Thanks to Lucy, Cassandra and Erin for collaborating to create a beautiful card, and to Pete, Cyndi, Lucy and Erin for addressing and stamping them just in time to send them out for the holidays!
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Robin- Special Topic:
“Reduction of Abnormal Behavior in a Gorilla
Through Social Interaction with Human Beings”
Abnormal behaviors in captivity result from non-ideal environmental conditions, and may be a result of poor animal welfare. This article focuses on a male gorilla housed at the Fundacao Parque Zoologico de Sao Paulo, named Virgulino, whose abnormal behaviors decreased with human social contact. Causes of abnormal behaviors may differ by species, but they all occur as an adaptation to the environment. While it is difficult to evaluate whether environmental enrichment works, observing whether there is an increase in species-typical behavior is a good indicator.
Appropriate contact with humans is environmentally enriching, especially for primates who have to be housed singly, and helps improve general social well being. This study period occurred over 5 and a half years, which was broken into two categories: in the first there were no treatments and data was collected to establish a baseline, and in the second treatments were applied. Nine categories of behaviors were observed: Regurgitation/Reingesting (R/R), Corprophagy (eating feces), Self-Mutilation, Intimidation, Aggressiveness, Browsing, Feeding, Inactivity, and Other.
In the baseline period there was minimal contact between Virgulino and the researcher, and an ethogram (a detailed list of the known behaviors and activities of a species) was obtained by sampling behaviors every 30 seconds for a one-hour period three times per week. At the end of each session, the researcher approached Virgulino submissively and offered him some dried banana to begin establishing a relationship. After 6 months, Virgulino would look for the researcher, so no further objective observations were possible.
During the treatment period, Virgulino always went voluntarily to the research area. The treatment began with a training period during which Virgulino got used to the materials being used (e.g. video camera) and during which he learned certain tasks via operant conditioning. If a negative behavior was observed, the researcher would turn her back on Virgulino for one minute in complete silence. The operant conditioning served to reinforce a connection to the researcher, to have Virgulino engage in rewarding interactions, and to decrease stress. After the training period, the researcher engaged in the social interaction phase. This consisted of 10 minutes of uninterrupted time with the researcher during which she would share food, toys, and play music. After the 10-minute period, Virgulino’s behavior was observed for 1-hour off-exhibit and for 3 hours on-exhibit.
Results
Despite the fact that the research area was not free of distractions, Virgulino showed good response to the operant conditioning tasks, such as opening his mouth for teeth inspection. The social interaction phase was always of great interest to Virgulino. There was considerable reduction in the percentage of time spent engaging in negative behaviors from the baseline period and through the five years of treatment, both while off-exhibit and while on-exhibit.
Gould and Bres (1986) have shown that Regurgitation/Reingesting behavior can be caused by diets having low fiber concentrations, however there was no change in diet during this study, and this behavior decreased considerably (however it did not disappear completely). Virgulino also showed an increase in the species-typical behaviors of browsing and feeding, which suggests that the social interaction had a positive effect on Virgulino’s well being.
While this study was very interesting, it should be noted that no statistics were done on the raw data, so it is impossible to say whether these results are significant. However, it is clear that Virgulino engaged in a higher number of positive behaviors and a lower number of negative behaviors. What can be learned from this is that when animals are housed in non-ideal situations, it is imperative for their keepers to provide environmental and social enrichment, especially for primates who live in social groups in the wild. It would be interesting to see further studies in this area with different species of primates for comparison.
References:
Pizzutto et al., (2007). Reduction of Abnormal Behavior in a Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) Through Social Interaction with Human Beings. Laboratory Primate Newsletter. v46 (3). 6-9. From http://www.brown.edu/Research/Primate/lpn46-3.pdf
Gould, E., & Bres, M. (1986). Regurgitation and reingestion in captive gorillas: Description and intervention. Zoo Biology, 5, 241-250.
We hope you have enjoyed this issue of Pacific Primate Sanctuary’s E-Newsletter. Thank you for your support of our life saving work. Because of compassionate people, the Sanctuary can continue to provide a place of peace and happiness for 70 primates saved from research laboratories, animal dealers, and smugglers. Here they can heal, form families, and live free from exploitation.
“ In wildness, is the preservation of the world.” —Henry David Thoreau
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