Rita Bellanca

• WANPRC

Overexpression of abnormal behavior among captive primates indicates poor management practices. The type, frequency, and contributing factors of abnormal behaviors vary highly across individual animals in captive settings. This study explored if sex, rearing history, the number of visitors, and type of visitor-monkey interactions affected the behav...

The social setting of animal subjects in the research environment has known effects on a variety of dependent measures used in biomedical research. Proper evaluation of the robustness of published research is dependent upon transparent, detailed, and accurate reporting of research methods, including the animals' social housing conditions. However,...

Alopecia has proven to be a persistent problem for captive macaques; many cases continue to elude explanations and effective treatments. Although almost all captive populations exhibit alopecia rates higher than those seen in the wild, there also appear to be wide ranges in rates reported across primate facilities. In this study we looked at alopec...

Alopecia is a persistent problem in captive macaque populations and despite recent interest, no factors have been identified that can unequivocally explain the presence of alopecia in a majority of cases. Seasonal, demographic, and environmental factors have been identified as affecting alopecia presentation in rhesus macaques, the most widely stud...

Alopecia in captive primates continues to receive attention from animal care personnel and regulatory agencies. However, a method that enables personnel to reliably score alopecia over time and under various conditions has proven difficult to achieve. The scoring system developed by the behavioral and veterinary staffs at the Washington National Pr...

Adult female macaques (Macaca nemestrina) in the laboratory with alopecia from known or suspected overgrooming were subjects in a study evaluating effectiveness of a grooming device. The intervention evaluated was a paint roller on a metal bar hung on the cage, replaced weekly for 6 weeks. In a within-subjects design, 6 monkeys were randomly assign...

Early descriptions of floating limb behaviors in monkeys were associated with isolation rearing, a practice that ended more than two decades ago. The present authors named various forms of behaviors in which a leg is elevated for no apparent reason: "Floating Limb Suite" (FLS). Floating limb behaviors, identified in laboratory monkeys at the Washin...

We have investigated the contexts of the LEN (lips forward-ears back-neck extended) or pucker, a species-specific facial expression of Macaca nemestrina, in four breeding groups. Using the behavior sampling method we recorded all LENs, associated behavior, and the identities of the individuals involved. Of 401 LENs initiated, 62% were directed to t...

Four Macaca nemestrina infants delivered via cesarean section were introduced to their mothers after surgery. All 4 introductions were successful, although methods differed slightly between dam-infant pairs. Pairs were considered successful when the mother displayed affiliative behavior towards the infant (including grooming), cradled it ventrally,...

Four Macaca nemestrina infants delivered via cesarean section were introduced to their mothers after surgery. All 4 introductions were successful, although methods differed slightly between dam-infant pairs. Pairs were considered successful when the mother displayed affiliative behavior towards the infant (including grooming), cradled it ventrally,...

A male pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina), approximately 5 years old, was found to be vision-impaired and to have profound behavioral abnormalities, including hyperactivity and self-injurious behavior that was not amenable to amelioration by environmental enrichment. Facial and skeletal dysmorphisms also were noted. Magnetic resonance imaging (...

To identify factors predicting abnormal behavior in laboratory monkeys, we observed all available singly housed 4- to 11-year-old male pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina), the species/age/sex group most likely to be referred to the Washington National Primate Research Center's Psychological Well-Being Program for behavioral assessment. Of the 87...

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We investigated pair housing of adult long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) by using widely spaced, vertical "grooming-contact" (G-C) bars that allow physical contact but prevent pursuit by one animal into the other's cage. Cages with G-C bars provide several potential advantages over run-through caging. Neighbors can choose physical social co...