Successful behavioural adaptation of an orphaned juvenile Bonobo Pan paniscus: a case study at the Primate Park Apenheul, the Netherlands

Abstract

Opportunities to study the behaviour of unweaned primate orphans in the wild and in captivity are rare. Following the death of a ♀ Bonobo Pan paniscus at Primate Park Apenheul, the Netherlands, the opportunity arose to monitor the behaviour of her 3 year‐old juvenile daughter ‘Kumbuka’ who remained in the natal group. Our aim was to investigate to what extent this juvenile's behavioural development was affected by her mother's death, and whether she developed a close foster‐parent relationship with any of the other group members. There were no clear indications of the development of a strong foster‐parent bond with a specific individual 2 months after the mother's death. Nevertheless, the juvenile ♀ showed no signs of behavioural depression. Her behaviour in general did not differ from other mother‐reared juvenile Bonobos. This case study illustrates that keeping an unweaned Bonobo juvenile in its natal group may be feasible in captive‐animal management. Separation, hand‐rearing and reintroduction were not necessary, and the juvenile adapted successfully to the new situation.

Primate Orphans

“…However, long-term demographic data for a wild chimpanzee population in the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania, show that orphaned chimpanzee sons die younger than expected if they lose their mothers even after weaning (Nakamura et al 2014). In bonobos (Pan paniscus), there have been recorded cases of infants who survived even though they were orphaned before being weaned (De Lathouwers and Van Elsacker 2007).…”

The behavior of a zoo‐housed infant orangutan after the death of its mother

“…Some studies have focused on such events in other primates, including rhesus monkeys, where a juvenile orphaned at 11 weeks of age was cared for first by four males, and ultimately by his sister [Berman, 1982], and baboons [Hamilton et al, 1982], in which case orphaned infants were adopted by pre-reproductive males and females in the troop. A case study of zoo-housed baboons observed that an infant that was orphaned while still dependent survived well but did not develop a strong bond with any particular individual in the group [de Lathouwers and van Elsacker, 2007]. Maple [1980] recommends that ''the optimal rearing environment for an infant apeyis composed of a mother, and where possible, the presence of other adults and peers'' because a naturalistic rearing experience increases the likelihood of later adequate maternal behavior.…”