Amanda J. Guy

The Release of a Troop of Rehabilitated Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Outcomes and Assessment

Rehabilitation and release have become central to the management and welfare of primate species in South Africa such as the vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops). However, limited research means that it is unknown whether rehabilitation is a successful management strategy for this species. This study describes the release of a troop of rehabilitated vervet monkeys and evaluates the results of 1 year of post-release monitoring. The released animals exhibited wild behaviours and established a home range. Survival could not be adequately evaluated due to the high number of untraceable animals, and troop composition was significantly different from that of wild troops. Improvement may be gained by radio-collaring more animals using improved technology, ensuring that troop composition is comparable to wild troops, excluding ex-pets from re-introduction and a more detailed assessment of the release site.

A survey of current rehabilitation practices for native mammals in eastern Australia

Wildlife rehabilitation is common in Australia, with more than 30 mainly volunteer wildlife networks caring for thousands of animals annually. Here we report on a survey of 140 Australian wildlife rehabilitators that asked questions about their motivations, their methods of rehabilitation and their methods for release and post-release assessments. Most rehabilitators were motivated by animal welfare concerns and most animals coming into care were injured or orphaned wildlife. Most rehabilitators recorded each animal’s history, conducted a medical examination and briefly quarantined new arrivals; few conducted pre-release medical testing. Animal behaviour before release was a significant concern and >50% of respondents stated that animals exhibiting stereotypic behaviours were still released. However, there were no consistent criteria for the suitability of an animal for release, its release site, or which soft-release method to use. Fewer than 60% of respondents carried out post-release monitoring, which was typically <1 month, and only 40% could identify factors that contribute to release success. Predation hampers most reintroductions and is likely to reduce survival of rehabilitated wildlife, highlighting the need for strategies to reduce predation risk; 20% of respondents carried out antipredator training, though most in an unstructured way. The ability to carry out animal training, and monitor success was perceived to be limited by poor funding, poor access to monitoring equipment, little government support and time constraints. Researchers are encouraged to collaborate with wildlife volunteer networks in order to improve this potentially valuable conservation approach.

Welfare based primate rehabilitation as a potential conservation strategy : does it measure up?

Many primate species are threatened with extinction and are the focus of extensive conservation efforts including re-introduction, captive breeding and habitat conservation. Welfare-based rehabilitation (hereafter also ‘rehabilitation’) is a management strategy commonly used for primates, particularly those species targeted by the pet and bush meat trades. Rehabilitation of rescued primates typically has the dual motivation of welfare and conservation, but has not been assessed as a conservation strategy. As the species involved in rehabilitation are often endangered (e.g. chimpanzees, gorillas, orang-utans), it is important for rehabilitation projects to follow a ‘best practice’ model in order to increase positive outcomes. In this study, we compared the approaches of 28 welfare-based primate rehabilitation projects to the ‘IUCN guidelines for nonhuman primate re-introductions’, in addition to components of the ‘Best practice guidelines for the re-introduction of great apes’ in order to assess where additional work might be needed for released animals to contribute to conservation outcomes. Few projects examined complied with the guidelines for re-introduction, failing to incorporate important factors such as quarantine, long term post-release monitoring and training for predator awareness. Further development of species-specific rehabilitation guidelines may improve the outcomes of future rehabilitation projects. To support this, we recommend that detailed methods and results be published for all rehabilitation efforts, regardless of the outcome.

Animal welfare considerations in primate rehabilitation: an assessment of three vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) releases in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

This study evaluates the methods utilised to release and monitor three troops of rehabilitated vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) in South Africa. In all cases, monitoring was poor and conducted over a short time-frame disallowing release outcomes to be fully assessed. Wild troops were present at two of the three locations, casting doubt upon sightings of released monkeys and indicating that the release sites chosen were unsuitable and presented disease risks to the wild vervets. Eighty-three percent of monkeys were unaccounted for at the end of monitoring. Any future releases should make use of radio or GPS collars to track the monkeys, have a planned monitoring schedule covering a period of at least one year, collect detailed data on behaviour, demographics and ecology and should follow the IUCN Guidelines for Non-Human Primate Re-introductions.

Assessing the Release Success of Rehabilitated Vervet Monkeys in South Africa

Eight post-rehabilitation vervet monkey troop releases were assessed with regard to their outcomes, environmental aspects of release sites and consistency with IUCN guidelines for non-human primate re-introductions. Based on our criteria, none could be considered successful as survival rates were too low. Troops with the best outcomes were close to the mean wild troop size. Despite release sites falling into two major groups in terms of climate, land cover and anthropogenic landscape alteration, we found no clear association between site characteristics and projected long-term survival. A number of IUCN guidelines were not followed. Recommended improvements include implementation of quarantine, disease screening and environmental enrichment, better assessment of release sites, and fitting all individuals with tracking devices to monitor for >1 year.

Guidelines for the Rehabilitation and Release of Vervet Monkeys

Abstract: In South Africa, conflict between humans and vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) has led to large numbers of the species coming into care in rehabilitation centers. An accumulation of displaced vervet monkeys in such centers has necessitated the process of troop formation and release. To date, the quality of methods used has been variable, as have the outcomes of rehabilitation and release efforts. Here we present proposed guidelines for the rehabilitation and release of vervet monkeys based on studies of vervet monkey rehabilitation, behavior and biology, in conjunction with existing guidelines for nonhuman primate reintroductions produced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The aim of these guidelines is to facilitate improved rehabilitation, release, and post-release monitoring and assessment, with the ultimate goal of improving release outcomes.

4th Congress of the European Federation for Primatology 3rd Iberian Primatological Congress

Primates communicate in several ways by using multi-modal signals. Recently, researchers have started to approach primate facial expression in an anatomical, systematic and standardized way, to try to understand the complexity of their visual communication. In this study, the widely used tool for analysing human facial expressions, FACS (Facial Action Coding System), was adapted for orangutans ( Pongo sp.) following the same muscle-based methodology. Orangutans are an intriguing ape species with conspicuous sexual dimorphism and developmental changes in facial morphology, possibly attributed to visual communicative signals. The facial muscular plan of orangutans was considered by reviewing dissections from the available literature. Individual facial movements were classified according to the visual appearance changes and the corresponding underlying musculature. A diverse repertoire of detailed facial movements was identified by analysing 64 h of spontaneous orangutan behaviour on video. Seventeen Action Units (independent muscular movements and the respective changes in appearance) and seven Action Descriptors (by non-mimetic muscles) were identified and described in detail in the orangutan face. There is great similarity in the facial musculature of primates, which demonstrates biological continuity across the order Primates. However, when comparing orangutans’ Action Units with thse of other primates (namely humans, chimpanzees, gibbons and rhesus macaques), we found some interesting differences implying that there is a specialization in visual signals for each species. OrangFACS will facilitate future studies on orangutan social communication as well as systematic studies on facial expressions between primate species, thus providing a valuable insight into the evolution and function of communication and emotion.

Contents Vol. 82, 2011

248 20th Meeting of the Italian Primatological Association Bussolengo, April 10–13, 2011 Editors: Spiezio, C.; Fistarol, L. (Bussolengo) 282 Book Reviews 244 Acknowledgement to the Reviewers No. 6