Fundação Mona Chimpanzees raised in isolation found social interaction difficultFundação Mona
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) that lived in isolation before being rescued at an older age may exhibit behaviors that deviate from the norm, such as squeezing, biting, scratching themselves or others, and excessive grooming, and they may develop psychiatric disorders similar to those described in humans, such as anxiety and depression. These animals can find social integration more challenging, according to a study by a team from a lab headed by Brazilian biologist Juliano Morimoto of the University of Aberdeen, UK, and the Federal University of Paraná. The research was carried out at the Mona Foundation, a primate rehabilitation center in Spain. In August and September 2023, the scientists spent 116 hours observing 10 animals that been rescued from circuses, advertising companies, or homes where they were kept as pets before. Six of them had previously lived in groups and exhibited abnormal behavior less than 1% of the time, a figure that varied between 24% and 29% for the other four, which had lived in isolation and were rescued as adults (American Journal of Primatology, December 18).
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