An Investigation into the Influence of Different Types of Nesting Materials upon the Welfare of Captive Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

ABSTRACT: Ensuring the welfare of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) is crucial, in part because they can act as a conservation resource in the case of wild populations becoming extinct. One strategy often adopted to ensure animal welfare is environmental enrichment. In this study, we investigated the impact of different nesting materials (leaves and branches, long grass, cotton sheets, and shredded newspaper) upon the welfare of chimpanzees housed at Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary (Sierra Leone). Data was collected on 20 subjects (aged 4 to 15 years) between November 2019 and March 2020. Welfare was based on individuals' relative frequency of affiliative, abnormal and agonistic behaviours, as well as their social and behavioural competence. We found that individuals' welfare was higher whe

SUBMITTER: Anderson N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8235373 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature