Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

This study intended to answer whether chimpanzees’ social interactions and stereotypic grooming were affected by two different enclosure types: an outdoor enclosure and an indoor enclosure. Previous studies have shown that space and environment in enclosures can affect social interactions within groups of chimpanzees at zoos. Social interactions are essential for chimpanzees’ well-being and reproductive success. Understanding chimpanzees’ behavior in their housing environment enables the identification of their needs and, consequently, the future development of management strategies to promote good animal welfare. Five chimpanzees at Borås Zoo were observed over ten days to study their social interactions. The group, housed together with access to indoor and outdoor enclosures, was monitored using continuous behavior recording on frequency. The results showed that the chimpanzees exhibited more than half of their social interactions in the outdoor enclosure. The behaviors observed with the highest frequency were ”other social interactions (physical/non-physical)” and ”social play”. The behaviors with the lowest observed frequency were ”aggressive interactions”, ”submissive behavior”, and ”sexual interactions”. ”Aggressive interaction” was the only behavior observed with a higher frequency in the indoor enclosure. The study analyzed the relationship between the frequency of social interactions and morning and afternoon periods, but no clear correlation was found. No stereotypic grooming was observed during this study. An explanation for this could be the chimpanzees' short access to the outdoor enclosure before the study period. The access to a new environment could have been why the chimpanzees did not exhibit the stereotypic behavior. For future studies on stereotypic grooming, the author recommends that an observational study to be conducted during the winter, when the chimpanzees have no access to the outdoor enclosure. It was further concluded that the findings of this study can not be generalized to all chimpanzees, and more studies are required for results that can be reliably generalized.