Here is a scene I recall from a wildlife documentary. It involved two groups of chimpanzees living side by side in Africa which are sometimes drawn into conflict. Every now and again a chimp is attacked by the other group and injured or even killed. On one occasion, a […]
Crisis? What Crisis?
Although their behaviour may not equate with some of the clichéd lifestyle changes associated with human midlife crises, a paper published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests emotional highs and lows may also be an inherent characteristic in chimpanzees and orang-utans. An international team […]
How abnormal is the behaviour of captive, zoo-living chimpanzees?
How abnormal is the behaviour of captive, zoo-living chimpanzees? BACKGROUND: Many captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) show a variety of serious behavioural abnormalities, some of which have been considered as possible signs of compromised mental health. The provision of environmental enrichments aimed at reducing the performance of abnormal behaviours is increasingly […]