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Early Rearing Conditions and Captive Chimpanzee Behavior: Some Surprising Findings

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Nursery Rearing of Nonhuman Primates in the 21st Century

Part of the book series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects ((DIPR))

Abstract

While it might seem that one of the first tasks in the formal study of behavior in captive nonhuman primates would be to determine the conditions required for normal behavioral development, this task has not yet been accomplished nearly four decades after the National Institutes of Health first established its network of primate research centers. It is widely thought that normal behavioral development depends in part on the bond between an infant primate and its mother, but not all maternally reared infants develop “normal” behavior or physiology (Sackett et al., 2002). Since captive nonhuman primates are reared in social and physical conditions that are not identical to the conditions in the wild, we need to understand how these dissimilar aspects of the rearing environment can influence behavioral development, to determine whether alternative social or physical settings can approximate the circumstances for normal development, and to define exactly what constitutes “normal” behavior and the desired developmental outcome for captive nonhuman primates.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research/TECH Lab, Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, 30315

    Mollie A. Bloomsmith

  2. Tulane National Primate Research Center, Veterinary Medicine, Covington, LA, 70433, USA

    Kate C. Baker

  3. Lincoln Park Zoo, Conservation and Science, Chicago, IL, 60614, USA

    Stephen R. Ross

  4. Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, 78602, USA

    Susan P. Lambeth

Authors
  1. Mollie A. Bloomsmith
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  2. Kate C. Baker
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  3. Stephen R. Ross
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  4. Susan P. Lambeth
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Gene P. Sackett , Gerald C. Ruppentahal  & Kate Elias ,  & 

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Bloomsmith, M.A., Baker, K.C., Ross, S.R., Lambeth, S.P. (2006). Early Rearing Conditions and Captive Chimpanzee Behavior: Some Surprising Findings. In: Sackett, G.P., Ruppentahal, G.C., Elias, K. (eds) Nursery Rearing of Nonhuman Primates in the 21st Century. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-25640-5_15

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