Baby-transfer and other interactions between its mother and grandmother in a captive social group of lowland gorillas

Nakamichi, Masayuki; Silldorff, April; Bringham, Crystal; Sexton, Peggy

doi:10.1007/s10329-003-0061-9

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Researchers expect mothers to invest most heavily in the sex that experiences the greatest variability in reproductive success (Trivers 1972), though tests of the hypothesis have produced conflicting results (Berman 1988;Meikle et al 1984;Nevison et al 1996). Parity of the mother can also influence the age at which immature individuals gain independence: primiparous mothers engage in more infant handling and are more restrictive of their infants' movements (Brown and Dixson 2000;Manson 1999); other researchers have reported them to be more neglectful of their infants (Maestripieri and Carrol 1998;Nakamichi et al 2004). Furthermore, the age and condition of the mother herself can also influence the way she behaves toward her offspring (Nowell 2005;van LawickGoodall 1971).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Development of Independence from the Mother in Gorilla gorilla gorilla

Nowell

Fletcher

2007

Int J Primatol

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In gorillas, the mother takes full responsibility for carrying and feeding offspring, and lactational amenorrhea prevents her from investing in another offspring while suckling. Therefore, mothers should encourage immature gorillas to become gradually more independent until they are physically able to acquire sufficient resources, travel independently, and manage social relationships unaided. We investigated the development of independence in a population of wild western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at Mbeli Bai, Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo. We observed the spatial proximity, the development of travel, patterns of suckling and weaning, and the nature of mother-offspring interactions for 42 immature gorillas to investigate the nature of the relationship between mother and offspring. Though mother-offspring distance and independent travel increased during immaturity, with few active interactions between the dyads, offspring still continued to suckle until a median age of 4.6 yr, longer than in mountain gorillas. The tolerance of the mother toward suckling by older offspring may reflect the importance of continued nutritional investment: the temporal nature of the diet of western gorillas means that succulent fruits-likely to be preferred weaning foodsare not always available. We propose that to buffer against potential fruit shortage, mothers continue to nurse their offspring to decrease the likelihood of death from care-dependent factors and to improve an offspring's chances of survival.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Development of Independence from the Mother in Gorilla gorilla gorilla

Nowell

Fletcher

2007

Int J Primatol

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“…Such innovations for zoo environments also influence visitor behavior: visitors tend to spend a longer time viewing more naturalistic exhibits (Bitgood, Patterson and Benefield 1988;Johnston 1988;Price, Ashmore and McGivern 1994). Moreover, behavioral studies of zoo animals in more naturalistic environments can offer not only fundamental information that is important for planning a management strategy for successful breeding in captivity, but also presents opportunities to observe events that might be rare or extremely difficult to observe in the wild (Nakamichi 1999;Nakamichi and Kato 2001;Nakamichi et al 2004). Maple and Finlay (1987) stressed the importance of post-occupancy evaluation of zoo-built environments, in order to determine the impact of these environments on the animal residents, zoo visitors and staff, and their contribution to the success of future zoo designs.…”

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confidence: 99%

Assessing the Effects of New Primate Exhibits on Zoo Visitors' Attitudes and Perceptions by Using Three Different Assessment Methods

Nakamichi

2007

Anthrozoös

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Using three different methods, this study investigated how zoo visitors behaved in response to both old and new exhibits of four nonhuman primate species and how they perceived these primates. On-site observations showed that zoo visitors were more likely to stop in front of new exhibits and spend more time viewing new exhibits compared with old exhibits. Response to an on-site questionnaire also showed that zoo visitors perceived primates in the new exhibits more positively than the same animals in the old exhibits. The results from these two types of local assessment indicate that the attractiveness and holding power of the new exhibits was greater than that of the old. However, the results of a questionnaire given to zoo visitors on leaving the zoo showed that the preference ranks of the visitors for the four primate species did not increase after the new exhibits were established, indicating that the new exhibits did not change the zoo visitors' perception of primates relative to other zoo animals. Using all three assessment methods appears to be of considerable value for the assessment of visitors' perceptions towards new exhibits in terms of both the immediate locality and the zoo as a whole.Many zoological gardens have promoted innovations for zoo environments in order to better achieve the four roles of the modern zoo: conservation, education, research, and entertainment. Moreover, naturalistic exhibits are more likely to allow captive animals to display speciestypical individual and social behaviors, and reduce the stereotypic or abnormal behaviors, compared with more traditional, sterile exhibits (Clarke et al

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“…Only Ai changed her behavior toward Oki during the course of this study. The social environment has been reported to affect the early development of gorilla infants in groups that consisted of more individuals than the group in this study (Crosby & Lukas, 2004;Maple & Warren-Leubecker, 1983;Meder, 1989;Meder, 1990;Nakamichi, Silldorff, Bringham, & Sexton, 2004). As in those studies, Ai's demand for contact with her mother might have decreased, while her demand for other environmental factors, including the nonkin female, might have increased from the age of 7 months to 19 months in the group studied here.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 45%

Social development of a captive gorilla infant in the zoo: relationship with the mother and a nonkin female

Ogura

Ueno²

2009

Japanese Journal of Animal Psychology

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Because of the decreasing number of individuals and the unsuccessful reproduction of captive gorillas, the documentation of the development of gorilla infants is attracting much attention in Japan. The aim of this study was to document the social development of a captive gorilla infant in Higashiyama Zoo. We recorded the activity budgets, proximity data, approach, and moving away of this infant, Ai, at 7 and 19 months of age, and the ways of infant-carrying at 19 months of age. In her first year, Ai started to be independent of her mother and to approach a nonkin female gorilla by herself. During the same period, the two ways of infant-carrying which gorilla infants display in different developmental stages were shown: carrying in the ventro-ventral position and ventro-dorsal position. These results revealed the developmental change of the relationship between Ai and each adult individual. The accumulation of case reports such as this study will help to understand the development of gorilla infants in captivity. Based on such understanding, the welfare and management of the captive gorilla population in Japan may be improved.

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Baby-transfer and other interactions between its mother and grandmother in a captive social group of lowland gorillas

Cited by 11 publications

References 5 publications

Development of Independence from the Mother in Gorilla gorilla gorilla

Development of Independence from the Mother in Gorilla gorilla gorilla

Assessing the Effects of New Primate Exhibits on Zoo Visitors' Attitudes and Perceptions by Using Three Different Assessment Methods

Social development of a captive gorilla infant in the zoo: relationship with the mother and a nonkin female

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