ABC'S: ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
CONCERNS & SOLUTIONS
A Question & Answer Forum For Animal Professionals
All content © by Diana L. Guerrero unless otherwise noted and may not be reprinted without prior written permission. All rights reserved. Click here for reprint permissions and fees.
WWelcome to the ABC's! Animal Behavior Concerns & Solutions is an animal behavior column written by animal behaviorist and animal trainer, Diana L. Guerrero. This section is dedicated to animal training techniques for all animals and pets, and topics related to operant conditioning and reinforcement. This column is about orangutan behavior evaluation and orangutan training for integration of Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus.
Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) Integration:
Animal Behavior & Training Evaluation
QUESTION:
We have a problem between one pair of our orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus
pygmaeus). These individuals were recently introduced and we are
having difficulties with the integration. The male has been at the
facility for under a year and is half the age of the female. Any
feedback would be appreciated.
NOTE: Space constraints prevent all details
from being included.
BACKGROUND
Upon introduction the male was locked in a confined area adjacent
to the female and he panicked. The introduction period was then
carried out over a time period of a few weeks. They are separated
at night.
The male will approach the female occasionally and make overtures
to her. Although she will engage in play (wrestling), she will not
allow genital touching. She has solicited him but always breaks
into play instead of mating. She does not appear to view him as
a mature male.
The male has been observed cowering or standing in a corner facing
the wall away from the female; during the time that they spend together
he almost always has loose stool. In addition, it appears that he
has displayed some annoyance behavior.
Sometime after the integration, the male orangutan stopped eating
his primate chow. After numerous strategies were tried, he did begin
to eat again. However, during this time the animals were also temporarily
separated. Once they were placed together again, his eating pattern
remained stable but he resumed exhibiting fearful behavior and again
ANIMAL BACKGROUND
The male orangutan was hand-reared and then turned over to a surrogate
mother. He appears to have a "hypersensitive" personality and flip
flops from being fine one day and then very depressed or scared
the next. No specific conditions or events have been noticed to
correlate with the behavior.
Notations from his former caretakers reflect that he was reared
with another orangutan infant and later placed within a group. Once
placed with the surrogate mother, he mated with her frequently and
became very depressed for several months after separation from her.
This period of time was described as a deep depression.
Too much spoiling by keeper staff, or the time period of when the
male was removed from the nursery and also the surrogate, can be
critical to his reactions/responses. If he was removed to early,
than the mother-infant bond was forced and could be the cause of
some of the problems.
Further background history shows this animal being very cautious
and slow to accept change or new things. As he has grown older,
he was inadvertently trained ("trained by accident") to engage in
some "sulking" behavior by human caretakers who would indulge and
spoil him because they were sympathetic and thought they were comforting
him. Whenever he engaged in his "mood" he would receive more keeper
attention. After his stress interactions with the female, he has
solicited grooming from his keeper staff.
The female is very submissive in relation to other animals she has
been housed with. It appears that she was mother-reared. It may
be that she views this young male as a juvenile or youngster since
she has been housed and mated by an older male. She is also very
geared toward humans.
OTHER NOTES
Unfortunately, it would appear that the initial introduction was
forced, throwing the male into a panic where he could not escape
close proximity from the female. Although separated by barriers,
his reactions were adverse. This initial trauma has contributed
to an uphill battle.
If the introduction is done on the territory of the established
animal (the female in this case) related problems can occur if enough
time exposure before hand is not an option. Introductions are best
done in a limited contact manner where there is separation in the
forms of barriers (bars or mesh) and so the animals can acclimate
to each other slowly. They should be able to investigate, instigate
interactions, or withdraw on their own terms.
Once they are showing active interest in each other, and tolerating
intimate touching, then the odds of successful integration are better.
Using the cycling pattern of the female can assist you with this,
since she will be more receptive to integration with him if she
is cycling when they are introduced. He will also be more interested.
There was only slight aggression observed between the two orangutans
after introduction. The male did learn to use an object the female
feared, to chase her, however the male remained afraid of the female.
They were observed mating only once near the beginning of their
introduction. This mating occurred all day and when she tired of
it, she slugged him and he withdrew and sulked. At that time the
female was implanted and is currently.
The vocalization heard in his displays could be a submissive sound.
If it is closer to a whine, it could be complaint (unsure, annoyance)
or discomfort. Without seeing footage of this or the animals in
interactions, it is hard for me to assess. It sounds like he could
have also been into a low level fear reaction display.
Trends in the cowering behavior can offer some clues but it is suspected
that he is just very fearful and insecure. It takes some animals
between six months to a year to fully acclimate in a new environment
and with new individuals. He needs to be able to have an escape
area or an area he can feel secure in.
This animal seems like he needs you to do some strategic short term
work to get him more securely integrated. Knowing what is going
on in detail could be helpful in this case. Perhaps some students
could come in to help troubleshoot by doing long term observations
to determine what some of the triggers may be.
SUGGESTED STRATEGIES
Give them time. Depending on how long they have been together, and
the integration history, it will often take six months to a year
for a new animal to emotionally acclimate. If he is hypersensitive,
as suspected, it will take a while but will be possible. At the
moment do not leave them together on exhibit 24 hours a day; give
them the acclimation time and a break from each other so that they
do want to see one another and interact in the exhibit..
Desensitize and approximate up the cohabitation. You might consider
keeping them together for a couple of days, and then giving them
a break before the stress related behavior appears. I.e. one day
together, give them a break, then a couple of days together, then
a break, then a few more days, then a break...approximating it
up so that they develop an interest in the interaction and it is
mainly positive. This is not long term separation, just enough so
that they will be glad for the company when let back in..
It would be advantageous to have them in the back area with visual
and limited contact through the bars during a "separation." Once
he is feeling more comfortable full integration will be easier.
This would be a very good strategy if you are pairing it before
she cycles....her receptivity would be good to take advantage of..
Stress relief. This will also give the male some time to
rest in between and reduce the stress level affecting his eating
and toileting habits. Be sure to do this slowly and keep it positive
so you have it being pleasurable for all involved. Make it a good
experience and relieve the stress before it escalates or you will
have more complications further down the road..
Positive reinforcement. You might reward them for mutual
toleration by pairing his presence in the exhibit with new toys,
and giving preferred food items only when he is there in the exhibit.
Training work could be done but due to the design of your ape house
and staffing constraints, this may not be an option..
Escape areas. Another thought would to be to have a crawl
space or escape area for him to get out of the area to. Don't know
what their size differences are or if that would be possible. The
main concern is that you give him the option of escape or before
the cycle of behavior begins to decline into a stress scenario..
Behavior Clues. Watch for patterns of low level behavior
signals. You will want to curtail interactions before they begin
to effect him physiologically. Once the cycle of behavior starts
it is harder to stop. At low levels of stress, give them separation
and a rest. The whole run of the exhibit and internal areas is good,
but you may need to allow for complete separation. Approximate up
in time and interactions.
Ethograms. Charting the cycle of the female is a good strategy but you may
want to also chart the cycle of behavior patterns. Watch for overtures
and note when and where they occur..
Avoid Inadvertent Reinforcement. Use caution and watch for
him playing off of keeper bonds or sympathy. Do not indulge him
or groom him after stress scenarios.
Are you a reader with a question? Be sure to submit it--and good luck in all your training endeavors!
About the columnist: Since 1978 Diana L. Guerrero has worked professionally with both wild and domestic animals. Guerrero has been affiliated with, and certified by, a variety of animal programs in the USA and Europe. Based in California, she writes, consults, and speaks. Information on her animal career programs, training courses, and her books {What Animals Can Teach Us about Spirituality (SkyLight Paths, 2003), Blessing of the Animals (Sterling, 2007), Help! My Pet is Driving Me Crazy (Guerrero Ink, 2007), Animal Disaster Preparedness for Pet Owners & Pet Professionals (Guerrero Ink, 2007)} can be found in this web site and in the shop. Questions for Guerrero should be submitted via the blog comments or membership forum.
