Abstract
Assessing welfare is at the forefront of modern zoo practice, and there is increasing recognition of how certain personality types are at greater risk of poor welfare outcomes than others when exposed to stressors. We investigated the associations between behaviour, welfare, subjective well-being, and personality in two groups of Sulawesi crested macaques (Macaca nigra) (n = 13) housed in a UK zoo using animal caregiver questionnaires and focal behavioural sampling. We used a welfare and subjective well-being questionnaire and previously defined personality dimensions: Sociability, Dominance, and Emotionality. We collected 3,100 min of focal animal sampling to measure behavioural indicators of welfare. Animal caregivers agreed on all 66 questionnaire ratings, except one welfare item called “environmental control.” A Principal Component Analysis suggested that welfare and subjective well-being items formed one component, which we labelled Well-being. Macaques with high Well-being scores performed fewer submissive behaviours and engaged in more play than those with lower scores. Macaques with higher Well-being scores also were rated as having higher Sociability and Dominance scores than those with lower Well-being scores, but we found no significant association between Well-being and Emotionality. Our results are consistent with similar studies of a range of primate species and have practical applications to zoo management. Because Sociability and Dominance are linked to behavioural welfare measures, macaques with low scores on these dimensions may require careful monitoring for welfare issues. The questionnaires used in this study offer a reliable and efficient way to assess captive primate welfare.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the staff at Paignton Zoo for their cooperation in completing the questionnaires and assisting in the identification of individual macaques. They also thank Lauren Robinson for proving the R code we adapted, as well as for help with statistical analysis. Thank you to the University of Exeter for hosting this research, which was part of NPH’s MSc thesis. Finally, they thank the editor of the International Journal of Primatology and two anonymous reviewers for their invaluable feedback and guidance.
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HLF and KB formulated the idea. NPH developed methodology with HLF and KB. NPH conducted fieldwork and statistical analysis. NPH wrote the manuscript; HLF and KB provided editorial advice.
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Parry-Howells, N., Baker, K. & Farmer, H.L. The Link Between Personality, Subjective Well-being, and Welfare in Zoo-Housed Sulawesi Crested Macaques (Macaca nigra). Int J Primatol 44, 984–1006 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-023-00366-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-023-00366-7