Sex differences in the behaviour of immature captive lowland gorillas

Meder, Angela

doi:10.1007/bf02381029

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Sex differences were also found: female infants engaged in significantly higher levels of self-directed behavior than males. Meder [1990] found that among the 26 animals she studied in Europe, female infant gorillas engaged in significantly more autogrooming (a component of self-directed behavior). This may reflect the tendency for female infant gorillas to engage in more nonsocial than social activities compared to male infants [Aspinall, 1983;Meder, 19901.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Nonsocial behavior of captive infant gorillas

Gold

1992

American J Primatol

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Frequencies of eight nonsocial behaviors (object contact, environmental exploration, mouthing, self-directed behavior, display behavior, solitary behavior, rest, and locomotion) were obtained for 20 infant lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) between 14 and 36 months of age. They lived in 13 groups in 10 zoological collections. Approximately 12 hours of one-zero data were collected on each animal. Behavioral data were analyzed with regard to the following independent variables: rearing history of the focal animal (mother-reared vs. human-reared), time of day (a.m. vs. p.m.1, sex of the focal animal, age of the focal animal, and complexity of the physical and social environment. Results indicated significant differences in the frequency of behaviors within each independent variable, including selfdirected behavior, rest, environmental exploration, and display behavior with rearing history. Additional significant differences in the frequencies of behavior were also found, including mouthing behavior and locomotion with infant age.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Nonsocial behavior of captive infant gorillas

Gold

1992

American J Primatol

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“…). Moreover, proximity is less likely to be strongly influenced by developmental stage or sex than other behavioral measures, such as play and grooming which change in frequency with age (Meder ; Maestripieri & Ross ; Rosenbaum et al. ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Avoidance of close proximity may be used to deter aggression, particularly for male gorillas (e.g., Robbins 1996), and initiating or maintaining close proximity is a primary reconcilia-tion mechanism in western lowland gorillas (Mallavarapu et al 2006). Moreover, proximity is less likely to be strongly influenced by developmental stage or sex than other behavioral measures, such as play and grooming which change in frequency with age (Meder 1990;Maestripieri & Ross 2004;Rosenbaum et al 2011). This is important because we are interested in evaluating the changes in social relationships across developmental stages.…”

Section: Measuring Social Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships Between Adult Male and Maturing Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) Persist Across Developmental Stages and Social Upheaval

et al. 2015

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Across the animal kingdom, long-term social relationships outside the context of reproductive pair bonds are rare. However, they have been demonstrated in some mammals including primates, cetaceans, and social carnivores. The ontogeny of such relationships is likely to depend on the benefits individuals can gain by cultivating them. Previous studies demonstrated that young mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) have strong relationships with adult males, but little is known about the longevity of these bonds. Here, we examine the temporal stability of proximity relationships between coresident adult male and maturing gorillas in the habituated population monitored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International's Karisoke Research Center in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. We used spatial proximity data to assess the strength of relationships between adult males and juveniles, and tracked these relationships as the juveniles matured into subadults (3-4 yr later; n = 229 dyads) and then young adults (7 yr later; n = 42 dyads). The proximity relationships of juveniles of both sexes predicted their proximity relationships with adult males in both subadulthood and young adulthood. However some young adult males who had lost their top adult male proximity partner from juvenilehood developed new relationships with older males that had risen in the dominance hierarchy. These data suggest that (1) kin selection may play a more important role in social relationships between potential fathers and adult female offspring than previously suspected, and (2) when maturing males' foremost adult male social partners remain available to them, their relationships can be stable past the age at which younger males become reproductive competitors.

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“…Although the influence of these factors has yet to be examined adequately in a welfare context, the existing literature indicates that all are related to individual differences in behavior for a number of primate species, including gorillas. For example, immature female gorillas show more interest in young infants and spend more time in nest building and grooming, whereas males spend more time engaged in aggressive behaviors and social play [Maestripieri and Ross, ; Meder, ]. Rearing history, and in particular mother vs. hand rearing, has been linked to numerous behavioral differences in immature and adult gorillas of both sexes [Gold, ; Meder, ; Ryan et al, ; Stoinski et al, , ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visitor Effects on the Behavior of Captive Western Lowland Gorillas: The Importance of Individual Differences in Examining Welfare

2011

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Given the conflicting and somewhat limited findings available on the effect of zoo visitors on primate behavior, the primary purpose of this study was to provide additional data on gorillas' response to variations in crowd size and to look at what other factors-both intrinsic (e.g. personality, sex, and rearing history) and extrinsic (e.g. group)-might influence such responses. Subjects included four groups (three mixed-sex and one bachelor) of captive western lowland gorillas living at Zoo Atlanta. Overall activity budgets and rates of social behaviors in high and low crowd conditions were compared. Behaviors suggestive of general welfare did not vary as a function of crowd size alone, although we did observe one significant interaction and several trends. Specifically, two groups spent more time engaged in undesirable behaviors in the high crowd condition, whereas the other two groups showed the opposite response pattern. Additionally, males, but not females, showed a trend toward greater rates of contact aggression in the high crowd condition, although wounding rates did not vary with crowd size. We also found trends towards variation in response to crowd size as a function of individual personality ratings. These results suggest that although the visitor effect may constitute an impediment to optimal animal welfare, this may only apply to some individuals or groups. We emphasize the importance of continuing to explore individual differences and the limitations of a one-size-fits-all approach when describing influences on animal welfare.

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Sex differences in the behaviour of immature captive lowland gorillas

Cited by 17 publications

References 51 publications

Nonsocial behavior of captive infant gorillas

Nonsocial behavior of captive infant gorillas

Relationships Between Adult Male and Maturing Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) Persist Across Developmental Stages and Social Upheaval

Visitor Effects on the Behavior of Captive Western Lowland Gorillas: The Importance of Individual Differences in Examining Welfare

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