This study measured the amount of time 17 chimpanzee infants devoted to stereotyped body rocking in a variety of nursery settings. Nine females and eight males ranging in age from three weeks to four years were included in the study. Some infants were placed in a peer group at a very early age and were given minimal human contact, while others were provided with more frequent human interaction and were placed in peer groups at varying ages. During the course of the study, infants were housed with varying numbers of chimpanzee companions and some were also provided with a canine companion. Four hundred and thirty-three hours of data were collected. Infants showed a decline in rocking over age and rocked less in the presence of a canine companion. Infant gender, the amount of human contact received at an early age, the age placed with at least one peer companion, and the current number of chimpanzee companions did not affect the time devoted to body rocking. These findings demonstrate that animal managers should look beyond conspecific stimulation for improving the social environment and overall welfare of chimpanzees. These results are further discussed in a framework of identifying possible strategies for minimizing rocking and promoting future behavioural competence in nursery-reared infants.

Twin infant black and white ruffed lemurs, male and female, were fostered on a part-time basis, in conjunction with hand-rearing, with an adult pair who were highly related to them. The adult female showed allomaternal behaviour towards the twins, although she did not attempt to suckle them. The adult male ignored the twins for the first few weeks but as they became more mobile and playful he frequently initiated play with one or both. Growth rates showed a significant trend when compared with parentally raised and hand-reared infants, with the fostered twins growing at rates intermediate between those found under the two other rearing methods. Fostering of rejected infants as a captive management strategy is advocated as an alternative to traditional hand-rearing techniques because of the welfare advantages to both infants and foster parents.

Human interaction as environmental enrichment for chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and other primates is widely promoted and believed to be of value, but has been subject to little objective evaluation. This study assessed the effects of positive human interaction (eg relaxed treat feeding, playing, and other forms of social interaction compatible with personnel safety) on the behaviour of adult chimpanzees. Subjects were housed indoors in groups of two or three individuals. The level of interaction during routine care and management (ie in the process of cleaning, feeding, and monitoring) represented the baseline condition. The test condition involved a familiar caretaker spending an additional 10 mins per day, 5 days a week, with each chimpanzee. This study was designed to assess carry-over effects of interaction on behaviour outside the context of care staff presence. Therefore, in all phases of the study, data (97 h of focal animal sampling) were collected only when caretakers were absent from the building. During the increased human interaction phase, the chimpanzees groomed each other more and showed lower levels of the following behaviours: regurgitation/reingestion, other oral abnormal behaviours, inactivity, and reactivity to the displays of neighbouring groups. A trend towards reduced agonistic display was also detected. Attempted interactions with the observer shifted significantly from predominantly aggressive to predominantly affiliative in nature. These results suggest that simple, unstructured affiliation between humans and chimpanzees should be a valued component of behavioural management.

The behavioural development of 90 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) was followed. Of these, 65 had been separated from their mothers to prevent casualties or, at a later age, to increase breeding success. Some showed body rocking and others did not. To obtain insight into the causes of the onset and development of body rocking, chimpanzees raised with peers, with their mother, or in a semi-natural group were compared Rocking was never observed in the semi-natural group. It was occasionally seen when with the mother. Separation from the mother soon after birth induced anxiety and rocking developed after sitting upright had developed. Rocking levels of three per cent of the time were still present at seven to nine years of age.

The most probable causes of the development of rocking are frustrating social circumstances and the inability to cope with these. Merging groups, disturbances and the introduction of a fearful object increased rocking in the individuals that had developed the habit. However, rockers reacted less to those circumstances than non-rockers, showing smaller increase in body contact and less reduction of play. This finding suggests that rocking, instead of being a bizarre reaction to unsurmountable stress, could be a behaviour that helps an individual to cope with difficulties and stress. In terms of animal welfare, rocking in chimpanzees housed in laboratory conditions is an indication of a less optimal reaction pattern to frustrating circumstances. The development of rocking may be prevented if the babies are left with the mother and in their social group. Rocking after (late) separation may be prevented when transfer takes place together with familiar peers.

Bodyweight is an important health and welfare indicator for captive non-human primates (NHPs). Bodyweight can be measured during routine handling procedures, which cause stress. Alternatively, animals can be trained to step onto a scale, but training success varies greatly between individuals. Being able to weigh animals regularly without having to handle or train them is thus desirable for monitoring animal health and welfare. This study investigates the utility, ie the participation, reliability and time investment, of voluntary weighing in captive NHPs living in large social groups. Subjects of the study were 92 rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) housed in four social groups at the Biomedical Primate Research Centre in Rijswijk, The Netherlands. A scale was placed in their home enclosure during several sessions. Individuals were unwilling to step onto an unbaited scale. When likeable food items were used to attract individuals to the scale, 68% of them stepped onto the scale. Age and dominance rank did not affect stepping onto the scale, whereas exploratory tendency and social group did. The level of agreement between bodyweight by voluntary weighing and bodyweight measured during sedation was very high. These results show that the majority of rhesus macaques in social groups can be weighed voluntarily and that voluntary weighing is reliable. When optimising and further developing the method, voluntary weighing can form a valuable tool in the captive management of NHPs.

Chronic pain and distress are universally accepted conditions that may adversely affect an animal's quality of life (QOL) and lead to the humane euthanasia of an animal. At most research institutions and zoological parks in the USA, a veterinarian, who has physically examined the animal and reviewed the clinical records, ultimately decides when an animal has reached a humane endpoint. To aid in the difficult process of interpreting pain and distress, we have developed specific behavioural guidelines, in addition to standard clinical information, to help define unique characteristics and traits of primates to assess and promote discussion of an individual primate's QOL, and thereby, to assist in the decision-making process regarding euthanasia. These guidelines advocate the creation of a QOL team when the animal is diagnosed with a life-threatening or debilitating chronic condition, or at the time the animal is entered into a terminal study. The team compiles a list of characteristics unique to that individual animal by utilising a questionnaire and a behavioural ethogram. This list enables the team to quantitatively assess any deviations from the established normal behavioural repertoire of that individual. Concurrently, the QOL team determines the number of behavioural deviations that are needed to trigger an immediate discussion of the necessity for humane euthanasia of the animal. The team remains intact once created, and revisits the animal's condition as frequently as deemed necessary. This process improves animal welfare by continuing the quest to optimally define QOL for captive primates, and potentially for all captive animals.

Ex situ conservation of species is risky and expensive, but it can prevent extinction when in situ conservation fails. We used the IUCN Guidelines on the Use of Ex Situ Management for Species Conservation to evaluate whether to begin ex situ conservation for the South-east Asian subspecies of Bengal florican Houbaropsis bengalensis blandini, which is predicted to be extinct in the wild within 5 years. To inform our decision, we developed a decision tree, and used a demographic model to evaluate the probability of establishing a captive population under a range of husbandry scenarios and egg harvest regimes, and compared this with the probability of the wild population persisting. The model showed that if ex situ conservation draws on international best practice in bustard husbandry there is a high probability of establishing a captive population, but the wild population is unlikely to persist. We identified and evaluated the practical risks associated with ex situ conservation, and documented our plans to mitigate them. Modelling shows that it is unlikely that birds could be released within 20–30 years, by which time genetic, morphological and behavioural changes in the captive population, combined with habitat loss and extinction of the wild population, make it unlikely that Bengal florican could be released into a situation approximating their current wild state. We considered the philosophical and practical implications through a decision tree so that our decision to begin ex situ management is not held back by our preconceived notions of what it means to be wild.

The Endangered Antillean manatee Trichechus manatus manatus is one of the most threatened aquatic mammal species in Mexico and the wider Caribbean region. The decline of this subspecies is mainly a result of historical exploitation and the impact of current coastal development. The conservation strategies adopted for the Antillean manatee include habitat protection, reduction of the most severe threats, and the rescue of stranded, orphaned or injured individuals and their management in captivity. This latter strategy has produced positive outcomes in some countries but has been the subject of controversy in others, including Mexico. We analyse the benefits and challenges associated with the management of captive manatees in Mexico, and the consequences of a lack of government policy and strategy for the post-rehabilitation release of individuals. We describe the evolution of this controversy from 1997–2017 in Mexico, analyse the consequences and implications for the conservation of the species, and propose an integrated management strategy that could address the issues raised. Although this strategy has been developed in the context of Mexico, it is applicable to management of this species across the Caribbean region.

From 1515, the rhinoceros was well known in Europe through a woodcut by Albrecht Dürer, showing an armour-plated animal from India with one horn on the nose and a spurious ‘Dürer-hornlet’ on the shoulders. When the first reports of the rhinoceros from Africa spread in the 17th century, it was not differentiated from the prototype, although it had a smooth skin and two nasal horns. Parsons in 1739 recognized differences between rhinos in Asia and Africa, but could not clearly separate them as two forms. Linnaeus based Rhinoceros bicornis on a skull from India with a second horn added by a trader. Camper in 1780 provided first anatomical proof for the existence of two species of rhinoceros distinguished by the number of teeth and horns. In the 19th century, travellers exploring the interior of southern Africa named rhino species according to the shape and size of the two horns, known as the Rhinoceros simus of Burchell, the unicorn of Campbell, the keitloa of Andrew Smith and the Mohoohoo of Oswell. Around 1900, with an increase of observations from the entire African continent, only two species were recognized, known as black rhino Diceros bicornis and white rhino Ceratotherium simum. The black rhino was first seen in captivity in the 1870s, the white rhino in 1944. Their status in the wild is precarious primarily because of illegal hunting for the horn. Continuous protection and management in the field together with research and documentation of their biology can still achieve their long-term preservation.