Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Note
  • Published:

Training captive chimpanzees to cooperate for an anesthetic injection

Lab Animal volume 34, pages 43–48 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Captive animals trained to cooperate with routine medical procedures, such as injections, may experience less aggression and anxiety than those forced to comply through the use of restraints. The authors used positive reinforcement training to teach captive chimpanzees to present a body part for anesthetic injection and determined the time investment necessary for initial training and duration of maintenance of the behavior after completion of the training.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3: Mean percentage (± standard error) of presentations for an anesthetic injection during pre-training, post-training, and subsequent to-date anesthetizations for untrained subjects, trained subjects, and within trained subjects those trained-untransferred and trained-transferred.
Figure 4: Number of trained subjects who present for an anesthetic injection versus those who require darting 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after completion of training.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Novak, M.A. & Suomi, S.J. Psychological well-being of nonhuman primates in captivity. Am. Psychol. 43(10), 765–773 (1988).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Novak, M.A. & Petto, A.J. Through the Looking Glass: Issues of Psychological Well-Being in Captive Nonhuman Primates (American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, 1991).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  3. Reinhardt, V. Avoiding undue stress: catching individual monkeys in groups of rhesus monkeys. Lab Anim. (NY) 19(6), 52–53 (1990).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Fritz, J. & Howell, S. Enrichment programs for assurance of psychological well-being of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Am. J. Primatol. 30(4), 311–312 (1993).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Sheperdson, D., Mellen, J. & Hutchkins, M. Second Nature: Environmental Enrichment for Captive Animals (Smithsonian Institutional Press, Washington, DC, 1997).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Howell, S.M. & Fritz, J. The nuts and bolts of captive chimpanzee diets and food as enrichment: a survey. J. Appl. Anim. Welf. Sci. 2(3), 205–215 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Reinhardt, V. Working with rather than against macaques during blood collection. J. Appl. Anim. Welf. Sci. 6(3), 189–197 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Home Office. Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Used in Scientific Procedures (Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1989).

  9. Vertein, R. & Reinhardt, V. Training female rhesus monkeys to cooperate during in-homecage venipuncture. Lab. Prim. Newslett. 28(2), 13 (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Reinhardt, V. & Cowley, D. Training stumptailed monkeys (Macaca arctoides) to cooperate during in-homecage treatment. Lab. Prim. Newslett. 29(4), 9–10, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Reinhardt, V. Training adult male rhesus monkeys to actively cooperate during in-homecage venipuncture. Anim. Technol. 42(1), 11–17 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Phillippi-Falkenstein, K. & Clarke, M.R. Procedure for training corral-living rhesus monkeys for fecal and blood sample collection. Lab. Anim. Sci. 42(1), 83–85 (1992).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Luttrell, L., Acker, L., Urben, M. & Reinhardt, V. Training a large troop of rhesus macaques to cooperate during catching: Analysis of the time investment. Anim. Welf. 3(2), 135–140 (1994).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Reinhardt, V. Refining the blood collection procedure for macaques. Lab Anim. (NY) 32(1), 32–35 (1996).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Schapiro, S.J., Perlman, J.E. & Boudreau, B.A. Manipulating the affiliative interactions of group-housed rhesus macaques using positive reinforcement training techniques. Am. J. Primatol. 55(3), 137–149 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Anzenberger, G. & Gossweiler, H. How to obtain individual urine samples from undisturbed marmoset families. Am. J. Primatol. 31(1), 223–230 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Turkkan, J.S. New methodology for measuring blood pressure in awake baboons with use of behavioral training techniques. J. Med. Primatol. 19(5), 455–466 (1990).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Priest, G.M. Training a diabetic drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) to accept insulin injections and venipuncture. Lab. Prim. Newslett. 30(1), 1–4 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Priest, G.M. The use of operant conditioning in training husbandry behaviors with captive exotic animals. Proceedings of the 16th National Conference of the American Association of Zoo Keepers 94–108 (1990).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Byrd, L.D. in Progress in Ape Research (ed. Bourne, G.H.) 161–165 (Academic Press, New York, NY, 1977).

    Google Scholar 

  21. McGinnis, P.R. & Kraemer, H.C. in Comfortable Quarters for Laboratory Animals 20–27 (Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC, 1979).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Bloomsmith, M.A., Stone, A.M. & Laule, G.E. Positive reinforcement training to enhance the voluntary movement of group-housed chimpanzees within their enclosures. Zoo Biol. 17(4), 333–341 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Bloomsmith, M.A., Laule, G.E., Alford, L. & Thurston, R.H. Using training to moderate chimpanzee aggression during feeding. Zoo Biol. 13(6), 557–566 (1994).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Stone, A.M., Bloomsmith, M.A., Laule, G.E. & Alford, P.L. Documenting positive reinforcement training for chimpanzee urine collection. Am. J. Primatol. 33(3), 242 (1994).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Laule, G.E., Thurston, R.H., Alford, P.L. & Bloomsmith, M.A. Training to reliably obtain blood and urine samples from a diabetic chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). Zoo Biol. 15(6), 587–591 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Lambeth, S.P., Perlman, J.E. & Schapiro, S.J. Positive reinforcement training paired with videotape exposure decreases training time investment for a complicated task in female chimpanzees. Am. J. Primatol. 51(S1), 79–80 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  27. Hassimoto, M., Harada, T. & Harada, T. Changes in hematology, biochemical values and restraint ECG of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) following 6-month laboratory acclimation. J. Med. Primatol. 33(4), 175–186 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Reinhardt, V., Liss, C. & Stevens, C. Restraint methods of laboratory nonhuman primates: a critical review. Anim. Welf. 4(3), 221–238 (1995).

    Google Scholar 

  29. Lambeth, S.P. et al. Positive reinforcement training affects hematologic and serum chemistry values in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Am. J. Primatol. 62(S1), 37–38 (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  30. Perlman, J.E., Thiele, E., Whittaker, M.A., Lambeth, S.P. & Schapiro, S.J. Training chimpanzees to accept subcutaneous injections using positive reinforcement training techniques. Am. J. Primatol. 62(S1), 96 (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  31. Laule, G. & Whittaker, M. in The Care and Management of Captive Chimpanzees (ed. Brent, L.) 243–265 (American Society of Primatologists, San Antonio, TX, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  32. Pryor, K. Don't Shoot the Dog! The New Art of Teaching and Training (Bantam Books, New York, NY, 1984).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Thank you to all PFA care and research staff and volunteers, especially Kelly Carbone and Kristi Lewton. Partial support for this study came from the University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center, subcontract U42 RR 15090-02, within the National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research Program.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Primate Foundation of Arizona, PO Box 20027, Mesa, 85277, AZ

    Elaine N. Videan MS, PhD, Jo Fritz, James Murphy, Rachel Borman, Heather F. Smith MA & Sue Howell PhD

Authors
  1. Elaine N. Videan MS, PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jo Fritz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. James Murphy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Rachel Borman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Heather F. Smith MA
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Sue Howell PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elaine N. Videan MS, PhD.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Videan, E., Fritz, J., Murphy, J. et al. Training captive chimpanzees to cooperate for an anesthetic injection. Lab Anim 34, 43–48 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0505-43

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0505-43

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing