Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T06:14:37.954Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Benefits of training/playing therapy in a group of captive lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

L Carrasco ,
M Colell ,
M Calvo ,
MT Abelló ,
M Velasco  and
S Posada
L Carrasco*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Campus de la Vall d’Hebron, Edifici de Ponent, Passeig de la Vall d’Hebron 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
M Colell
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Campus de la Vall d’Hebron, Edifici de Ponent, Passeig de la Vall d’Hebron 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
M Calvo
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 02028, Barcelona, Spain
MT Abelló
Affiliation:
Barcelona Zoo, Parc de la Ciutadella s/n 08003, Barcelona, Spain
M Velasco
Affiliation:
Barcelona Zoo, Parc de la Ciutadella s/n 08003, Barcelona, Spain
S Posada
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Campus de la Vall d’Hebron, Edifici de Ponent, Passeig de la Vall d’Hebron 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Animal well-being and enrichment continue to gain importance in the maintenance of primates living in captivity. Positive reinforcement training (PRT) and/or playing interaction have been shown to be effective in improving the well-being of several species of primates. This research study evaluated the effects of applying a combination of these two techniques (training/playing therapy) on a group of lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). The effects of this combination on the behaviour of captive primates have been given very little attention to date. The behaviour of a group of seven females was recorded in two different phases at Barcelona Zoo: before (periods 1 and 2) and after (periods 3 and 4) a series of changes were made to the composition of this social group. In each period, two phases were distinguished: i) baseline condition, after the subjects became used to the researcher, focal recordings were made of the group's regular behaviour and, ii) experimental condition, the training and playing sessions (‘gorilla play’) with two specific subjects began one hour before the group went to the outdoor facility. The frequency and duration of the behaviour observed in each of the recording conditions were compared. The results showed positive changes in the gorillas’ behaviour: stereotypies, interactions with the public, aggression between subjects and inactivity were all reduced, while affiliative behaviour and individual and social play-related behaviour increased. Moreover, the benefits of this therapy were observed in trained individuals and the rest of the gorillas in the group, which would seem to indicate that training/playing can be used to create a more relaxed atmosphere, reducing social tension and improving the well-being of all the subjects involved.

Keywords

animal welfaregorillahuman interactionplaytrainingwell-being
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , February 2009 , pp. 9 - 19
Copyright
© 2009 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Abelló, MT 2007 Maternal training program results in two mother-reared infants for the first time. Gorilla Gazette 20(1): 12Google Scholar
Baker, KC 1997 Human interaction as enrichment for captive chimpanzees: preliminary report. American Journal of Primatology 42: 85–158Google Scholar
Baker, KC 2004 Benefits of positive human interaction for socially housed chimpanzees. Animal Welfare 13(2): 239–245Google ScholarPubMed
Baker, KC, Bloomsmith, MA, Griffis, C and Gierhart, M 2003 Self-injurious behavior and response to human interaction as enrichment in rhesus macaques. American Journal of Primatology 60(1): 94–95Google Scholar
Basset, L, Buchanan-Smith, HM, McKinley, J and Smith, TE 2003 Effects of training on stress-related behaviour of the common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) in relation to coping with routine husbandry procedures. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 6(3): 221–233CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bayne, K and Dexter, SL 1992 Environmental enrichment for research chimpanzees. In: Erwin, J and Landon, JC (eds) Chimpanzee Conservation and Public Health: Environments for the Future pp 147–153. Rockville: Washington DC, USAGoogle Scholar
Bayne, K, Dexter, SL and Strange, G 1993 The effects of food treat provisioning and human interaction on the behavioural well-being of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulata). Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 32: 39–53Google Scholar
Bloomsmith, MA, Brent, LY and Schapiro, SJ 1991 Guidelines for developing and managing an environmental enrichment program for nonhuman primates. Laboratory Animal Science 41(4): 372–377Google ScholarPubMed
Bloomsmith, MA 1992 Environmental enrichment research to promote the well-being of chimpanzees. In: Erwin, J and Landon, JC (eds) Chimpanzees Conservation and Public Health: Environments for the Future pp 155–163. Rockville: Washington DC, USAGoogle Scholar
Bloomsmith, MA and Pruetz, JD 1992 Comparing two manipulable objects as enrichment for captive chimpanzees. Animal Welfare 1: 127–137Google Scholar
Bloomsmith, MA, Lauge, GE, Alford, PL and Thurston, RH 1994 Using training to moderate chimpanzee aggression during feeding. Zoo Biology 13: 557–566CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloomsmith, MA, Lambeth, SP, Stone, AM and Lauge, GE 1997 Comparing two types of human interaction as enrichment for chimpanzees. American Journal of Primatology 42(2): 96Google Scholar
Bloomsmith, MA, Baker, KC, Ross, SK and Lambeth, SP 1999 Comparing animal training to non-training human interaction as environmental enrichment for chimpanzees. American Journal of Primatology 49: 35Google Scholar
Bloomsmith, MA, Baker, KC, Griffis, C, Maloney, M, Neu, K, Schoof, V and Martinez, M 2005 Comparing training to human interaction as enrichment for captive rhesus monkeys. American Journal of Primatology 66(1): 178–179Google Scholar
Broom, DM 1991 Animal welfare: concepts and measurement. Journal of Animal Science 69: 41–65CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryant, CE, Rupniak, NMJ and Iversen, SD 1988 Effects of different environmental enrichment devices on cage stereotypies and autoaggression in captive cynomolgus monkeys. Journal of Medical Primatology 17: 257–269CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buchanan-Smith, HM 2003 The benefits of positive reinforcement training and its effects on human non-human animal interactions. Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Symposium on Zoo Research. 7-8 July 2003, Marwell Zoological Park, Winchester, UKGoogle Scholar
Desmond, T and Laule, G 1994 Use of positive reinforcement training in the management of species for reproduction. Zoo Biology 13(5): 471–477CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, IJH and Dawkins, MS 1983 The problem of assessing ‘well-being’ and ‘suffering’ in farm animals. In: Smith, D (ed) Indicators Relevant to Farm Animal Welfare pp 13–24. Martinus Nijhoff: The Hague, The NetherlandsCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraser, D 1993 Assessing animal well-being: Common sense, un-common science. Food Animal Well-Being: Conference Proceedings and Deliberations pp 37–54. 13-15 April 1993, Indianapolis, USAGoogle Scholar
Hill, SP and Broom, DM 2003 Home improvements: behavioral responses of captive gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) to enrichment efforts. Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Symposium on Zoo Research pp 1–3. 7-8 July 2003, Marwell Zoological Park, Winchester, UKGoogle Scholar
Hosey, GR 2000 Zoo animals and their human audiences: what is the visitor effect? Animal Welfare 9: 343–357Google Scholar
Jones, R and Wehnelt, S 2003 Two approaches to measure the effect of visitor numbers on orang-utan welfare. Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Symposium on Zoo Research pp 133–138. 7-8 July 2003, Marwell Zoological Park, Winchester, UKGoogle Scholar
Keane, C and Marples, N 2003 The effects of zoo visitors on gorilla behaviour. Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Symposium on Zoo Research pp 144–154. 7-8 July 2003, Marwell Zoological Park, Winchester, UKGoogle Scholar
Lambeth, SP, Bloomsmith, MA and Alford, PL 1997 Effects of human activity on chimpanzee wounding. Zoo Biology 16: 327–3333.0.CO;2-C>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laule, GE 1992 Addressing psychological well-being: training as enrichment. AAZPA/CAZPA 1992 Annual Conference Proceedings: 415–422Google Scholar
Laule, GE, Bloomsmith, MA and Schapiro, SJ 1993 The use of positive reinforcement training techniques to enhance the care, management and welfare of primates in the laboratory. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 6(3): 163–173CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCormick, W 2003 How enriching is training? Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Symposium on Zoo Research pp 9–17. 7-8 July 2003, Marwell Zoological Park, Winchester, UKGoogle Scholar
McKinley, J and Buchanan-Smith, HM 2003 Improving the animal-human relationship with laboratory-housed common marmosets (Callithrix jaccus): increased interactions and positive reinforcement training. Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Symposium on Zoo Research pp 27–37. 7-8 July 2003, Marwell Zoological Park, Winchester, UKGoogle Scholar
McKinley, J, Buchanan-Smith, HM, Bassett, L and Morris, K 2003 Training common marmosets (Callithrix jaccus) to cooperate during routine laboratory procedures: Ease of training and time investment. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 6(3): 209–220CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palagi, E, Cordoni, G and Borgognini Tarli, SM 2004 Immediate and delayed benefits of play behaviour: New evidence from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Ethology 110: 949–962CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prescott, MJ and Buchanan-Smith, HM 2003 Training nonhuman primates using positive reinforcement techniques. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 6(3): 157–161CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
R Development Core Team 2007 R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria. http://www.R-project.orgGoogle Scholar
Rensch, B 1973 Play and art in apes and monkeys. Symposia of the 4th International Congress of Primatology 1: 102–123Google Scholar
Savastano, G, Hanson, A and McCann, C 2003 The development of an operant conditioning training program for the New World primates at the Bronx zoo. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 6(3): 247–261CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schapiro, SJ, Perlman, JE and Boudrreau, BA 2001 Manipulating the affiliative interactions of group-housed rhesus macaques using PRT techniques. American Journal of Primatology 55: 137–149CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schapiro, SJ, Bloomsmith, MA and Laule, GE 2003 Positive reinforcement training as a technique to alter nonhuman primate behaviour: Quantitative assessments of effectiveness. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 6: 175–189CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scott, L, Pearce, P, Fairhall, S, Muggleton, N and Smith, J 2003 Training non-human primates to co-operate with scientific procedures in applied biomedical research. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 6(3): 199–207CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seiver, D, Walsh, P, Weber, B and MacPhee, M 2001 Operant Conditioning of Apes to Facilitate Medical Procedures and Immobilizations. The Apes: Challenges for the 21st Century. Chicago Zoological Society: Chicago, Illinois, USAGoogle Scholar
Venables, WN and Ripley, BD 2002 Modern Applied Statistics with S, Fourth Edition. Springer: New York, USACrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whittaker, M, Laule, G, Perlman, J, Schapiro, S and Keeling, MA 2001 Behavioural Management Approach to Caring for Great Apes. The Apes: Challenges for the 21st Century. Chicago Zoological Society: Chicago, Illinois, USAGoogle Scholar