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Box B6

The Application of Positive Reinforcement Training to Enhance
Welfare of Primates in Zoological Collections
Jim Mackie

The first record of a primate in a modern, sci- cooperative trained behaviours to replace
entific, zoo is at the Zoological Gardens at more coercive husbandry techniques.
Regents Park, now known as ZSL London Nowadays primate training in zoos encom-
Zoo, when in 1835, Tommy the chimpanzee passes a huge repertoire of behaviours as
arrived and caused a sensation in Victorian diverse as voluntary blood draws, ultrasound
London. Our fascination with primates in exams, X‐rays and dental care. One recent
zoos has continued ever since, with the first example of this is with orangutan (Pongo pyg-
chimp’s tea party being held at London Zoo in maeus) at Waco Zoo Texas (Franklin 2005),
1926. The popularity of these events, and oth- which incorporated a protected‐contact
ers like them in various zoos, are an indica- sleeve and positive reinforcement training to
tion of how much we humans love primates achieve the goal of voluntary blood with-
but how little we used to understand about drawal (e.g. Figure B6.1).
the cognitive ability and emotional capacity The use of positive reinforcement training
of our closest living animal relatives. in primate management has moved on from
More recently, zoos have been able to pro- just the great apes to incorporate all types of
vide scientists with unprecedented access to primates. At ZSL London Zoo, keepers have
observe primate behaviour, resulting in trained their aye aye’s (Daubentonia mada-
research projects, especially with great apes, gascariensis) to accept a hand injection for
that have led to a radical change in the way anaesthetic. The keepers in this instance also
we think about primates, and subsequently trained the animals to enter a travel crate to
care for them in captivity. In 1994, one of the go to sleep in comfort before being moved to
first studies into the use of operant condi- the veterinary theatre for the blood with-
tioning with wild animals was conducted drawal required to test vitamin D consump-
with 37 chimpanzees that were trained to tion (Training of nocturnal primates to
voluntarily enter crates (Kessell‐Davenport enhance welfare, BIAZA Awards winner
and Gutierrez 1994). This research, and a 2018, Christina Stender). Simple medical
growing understanding of the potential wel- procedures such as X‐ray exams, which in
fare benefits of using positive reinforcement the past would have been conducted under
techniques highlighted by such organisations anaesthetic, likely following a manual
as the International Primatological Society restraint, can now be completed consciously
(Prescott and Buchanan‐Smith 2003), has led and voluntarily using simple operant training
to major refinement in the management of techniques. A good example of this was with
primates in zoos, with an emphasis on using a male ring tailed lemur (Lemur catta) at ZSL

Zoo Animal Learning and Training, First Edition. Edited by Vicky A. Melfi, Nicole R. Dorey, and Samantha J. Ward.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2020 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.