Note on social behavior of long-term captive female orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abellii).
Some observations of social behavior of two aging female orangutans with a younger male son of one were made in an outdoor and in an indoor enclosure during the day. These included social distance, grooming, and locomotion plus wrestling and genital stimulation. As noted 15 years earlier, the two old females were never in contact with each other. Each showed contact and noncontact with the younger male. No clear social relation between the females was evident. Careful study of aging zoo populations could be useful.
Tobach
Ethel
E
American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA. tobach@amnh.org
Porto
Nicole
N