Regurgitation and reingestion in bonobos (Pan paniscus): Relationships between abnormal and social behavior

Miller, Lance J.; Tobey, Jennifer R.

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2012.07.011

Cited by 15 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Baker & Easley, 1996;Baker, 1997;Herrelko et al, 2015), Orangutans Pongo sp (e.g. Cassella et al, 2012), Bonobos Pan paniscus (Miller & Tobey, 2012), and Western lowland gorillas Gorilla gorilla gorilla (e.g. Lukas, 1999;Lukas et al, 1999;Hill, 2009;Fuller et al, 2017), as well as some other primates (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

‘Regurgitation and reingestion’ (R/R) in great apes: a review of current knowledge

Hill

2018

International Zoo Yearbook

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research indicates that regurgitation and reingestion (R/R) is a relatively common behaviour in zoo-housed great apes, with most work to date carried out on Western lowland gorillas Gorilla gorilla gorilla and Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes. It is an abnormal behaviour because great apes are not anatomically adapted to regurgitate their food as part of their normal feeding processes, and because this behaviour is not seen in members of the species living freely in the wild, in conditions that would allow a full behavioural range. In this article, I give an overview of the published literature on R/R in great apes, which suggests that this behaviour is probably multifactorial and may be linked to inappropriate feeding environments (e.g. in terms of nutritional composition of the diet and/or presentation of food), and possibly also social and other factors as well. A similar behaviour to R/R, known as rumination disorder, can also occur in another great ape species, humans, in whom it is classified as a feeding and eating disorder, and there are potential consequences to people's physical health as a result of oral acid. There have been no known studies to date to identify whether or not similar health consequences can occur in non-human great apes, but the regurgitant has been found to be significantly more acidic in gorillas than the food they ingested originally, meaning it is potentially injurious in non-human great apes. There is much that is not yet known about this behaviour and how to reduce or eliminate it when it does occur, as the research indicates that there are a range of factors involved, and these can vary by individual animal. More research into this behaviour is clearly needed to ensure that zoos and sanctuaries are providing the best possible care for these animals, and I make some suggestions for future research directions.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lukas, 1999;Lukas et al, 1999;Hill, 2009;Fuller et al, 2017), as well as some other primates (e.g. see Cassella et al, 2012, andMiller &Tobey, 2012, for a brief review). A similar behaviour to R/R is also known to occur in people, another member of the great ape taxonomic family, which will be referred to later in this review.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Regurgitation and reingestion’ (R/R) in great apes: a review of current knowledge

Hill

2018

International Zoo Yearbook

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is worth noting that the three most prevalent abnormal behavioral patterns (hair plucking, R&R, coprophagy) all have a pronounced oral component to the behavior. Among zoos that house bonobos there is considerable variation in the prevalence of R&R. Our combined sample reports 27% of the total population engaging in this behavior but one report indicates 71.4% of individuals at one zoo exhibited R&R (Miller & Tobey, ). In contrast, in the Jacobson et al () study, chimpanzees are rarely reported to exhibit this pattern (7.3%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Hair plucking is reported to occur in a number of captive primate species, including rhesus macaques (Heagerty, Wales, Prongay, Gottlieb, & Coleman, ; Lutz, Coleman, Worlein, & Novak, ; Reinhardt, Reinhardt, & Houser, ), and all the great apes (Birkett & Newton‐Fisher, ; Brand & Marchant, ; Edwards & Snowdon, ; Hill, ; Jacobson, Ross, & Bloomsmith, ; Less, Kuhar, & Lukas, ; Miller & Tobey, ; Nash, Fritz, Alford, & Brent, ; Pizzutto, ). The behavior has been observed to be both self‐directed and directed toward conspecifics (Heagerty et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and characteristics of hair plucking in captive bonobos (Pan paniscus) in North American zoos

Brand

Marchant

2018

American J Primatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

When primates exhibit hair loss and are observed to engage in self or social hair plucking (a rapid jerking away of the hair shaft and follicle by the hand or mouth, often accompanied by inspection, and consumption) the altered appearance, and behavior patterns are thought to reflect individual physiological, and psychological well-being. Hair loss and hair plucking occur in many captive primate species, including all of the great apes. We present the first survey of this behavior among captive bonobos (N = 88; 50 females and 38 males) in seven zoos in the United States. We found that 43% of the population engaged in this behavior pattern and discounting youngsters (who are not observed to hair pluck until the age of five), 58% of individuals hair plucked. Of the individuals who hair plucked, 97% engaged in social plucking, whereas 46% engaged in self-directed plucking. We regressed the occurrence of hair plucking with multiple predictor variables using binary logistic regression and multimodel inference to determine which predictors best explained the prevalence of self-directed and social plucking. We also analyzed publicly available data on hair plucking in captive chimpanzees. We found that the occurrence of another abnormal behavior, age, origin, and pelage condition best explained self-directed plucking in bonobos. Social plucking was explained by age, origin, pelage, and sex. Our analysis of chimpanzee hair plucking revealed that plucking is strongly influenced by rearing and sex. This study demonstrates that hair plucking is more prevalent in captive bonobos compared to captive chimpanzees and gorillas, however, the covariates associated with hair plucking for each species are different. Our data suggest a potential link between self-directed plucking and well-being. However, the higher prevalence and etiology of social hair plucking is more difficult to explain.

show abstract

“…Among non-human primates, at least one individual from seven species was observed to hair pluck in a survey of British and Irish zoos [Hosey and Skyner, 2007]. Among the great apes, the behavior has been noted to occur in every captive species: orangutans (genus Pongo) [Zucker et al, 1978;Edwards and Snowdon, 1980], gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) [Pizzutto, 2007;Hill and Broom, 2009;Clark et al, 2012;Less et al, 2013], chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) [Nash et al, 1999;Pomerantz and Terkel, 2009;Birkett and Newton-Fisher, 2011;Ferdowsian et al, 2012], and bonobos (P. paniscus) [Miller and Tobey, 2012;Brand and Marchant, 2015]. To date, few studies have directly focused on this particular behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hair plucking, stress, and urinary cortisol among captive bonobos (Pan paniscus)

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hair plucking has been observed in many captive primate species, including the great apes; however, the etiology of this behavioral pattern is poorly understood. While this behavior has not been reported in wild apes, an ethologically identical behavior in humans, known as trichotillomania, is linked to chronic psychosocial stress and is a predominantly female disorder. This study examines hair plucking (defined here as a rapid jerking away of the hair shaft and follicle by the hand or mouth, often accompanied by inspection and consumption of the hair shaft and follicle) in a captive group of bonobos (N = 13) at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Columbus, Ohio. Plucking data were collected using behavior and all-occurrence sampling; 1,450 social and self-directed grooming bouts were recorded during 128 hr of observation. Twenty-one percent of all grooming bouts involved at least one instance of plucking. Urine samples (N = 55) were collected and analyzed for the stress hormone cortisol. Analyses of urinary cortisol levels showed a significant positive correlation between mean cortisol and self-directed plucking for females (r = 0.88, P < 0.05) but not for males (r = -0.73, P = 0.09). These results demonstrate an association between relative self-directed hair plucking and cortisol among female bonobos. This is the first study to investigate the relationship between hair plucking and cortisol among apes. Overall, these data add to our knowledge of a contemporary issue in captive ape management. Zoo Biol. 35:415-422, 2016. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

show abstract

Regurgitation and reingestion in bonobos (Pan paniscus): Relationships between abnormal and social behavior

Cited by 15 publications

References 29 publications

‘Regurgitation and reingestion’ (R/R) in great apes: a review of current knowledge

‘Regurgitation and reingestion’ (R/R) in great apes: a review of current knowledge

Prevalence and characteristics of hair plucking in captive bonobos (Pan paniscus) in North American zoos

Hair plucking, stress, and urinary cortisol among captive bonobos (Pan paniscus)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About