Document Type
Thesis
Date of Degree Completion
Spring 2022
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Primate Behavior
Committee Chair
Mary Lee A. Jensvold
Second Committee Member
Lori K. Sheeran
Third Committee Member
J. B. Mulcahy
Abstract
Visitor effect studies have had inconsistent impacts on animals, due in part to the inability to control for all confounding variables such as time of day, seasonal weather patterns, and so forth. This study represents the first instance where chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) wounding frequencies were investigated across extensive time periods in the presence and complete absence of visitors, thus eliminating many visitor-related variables. Additional variables were eliminated through the zoo selection process, based on institutional responses to a 29-question survey, providing a novel approach to the question of visitor effects. The aim of this study was to determine if visitors were associated with a change in chimpanzee wound event frequencies across four 51-day time periods, three of which occurred prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and one occurred during the first wave of the COVID-related zoo closures. We analyzed archival records of 21 chimpanzees housed at three U.S. zoos. Due to the small number of wound events across all study windows, frequencies of “no wound” events were analyzed. Results showed no significant difference between frequencies of “no wound” events while visitors were present or absent, suggesting that chimpanzee welfare, as it relates to wounding, may not be adversely affected by zoo visitors.
Recommended Citation
Salak, Robin Elana, "A Comparison of Chimpanzee Wound Rates Before and During COVID-19 Zoo Closures" (2022). All Master's Theses. 1743.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1743
Included in
Animal Experimentation and Research Commons, Other Animal Sciences Commons, Zoology Commons