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Interspecies pair housing of macaques in a research facility
L DiVincenti1, A Rehrig, J Wyatt
1Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. louis_divincenti@urmc.rochester.edu
Laboratory Animals
|January 27, 2012
Summary
Small research facilities can now pair house rhesus and cynomolgus macaques across species. This novel approach addresses challenges in providing social housing for non-human primates in limited settings.
Area of Science:
- Primate research
- Animal welfare
- Comparative psychology
Background:
- Social housing is the recommended standard for non-human primates.
- Small research facilities face challenges in implementing social housing due to space and compatibility issues.
- Existing housing limitations hinder the well-being of social species in research settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore a novel interspecies pair-housing strategy for macaques.
- To determine the feasibility of housing rhesus and cynomolgus macaques together.
- To provide a solution for facilities with limited primate populations.
Main Methods:
- Pair housing an intact male rhesus macaque with an intact male cynomolgus macaque.
- Pair housing an adult female rhesus macaque with multiple subadult female cynomolgus macaques.
- Observing social dynamics and establishing dominant-subordinate relationships within the pairs.
Main Results:
- Successful social housing was achieved between rhesus and cynomolgus macaques.
- Established dominant-subordinate relationships were observed, similar to same-species pairings.
- Interspecies pair housing proved viable for macaques in limited-resource facilities.
Conclusions:
- Cross-species pair housing is a viable strategy for macaques.
- This method can help small research facilities meet social housing guidelines for non-human primates.
- Interspecies housing offers a practical solution for primate social well-being in research.
