A survey of alopecia in group-housed baboons (2010)

Lutz, C. K., Condel, L. L., Ponce, F. B.

Abstract

Although alopecia may arise from a variety of causes, it is often viewed as an indicator of impaired wellbeing, frequently becoming a focus of regulators or facility managers. However, the extent of alopecia in populations of nonhuman primates has not been routinely documented. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of alopecia in a large population of group-housed baboons and to identify potential risk factors. Subjects were 317 baboons (Papio hamadryas spp.), 156 males and 161 females, ranging in age from 3–29 years and housed in groups of 5–22 animals. Two observers scored each animal using the alopecia scoring system being developed by the Behavioral Management Consortium (Crockett et al., 2009) with scores ranging from 0 (no alopecia) to 5 (severe alopecia). All animals were awake and in their social group during scoring. The greatest number of animals (137) received a score of 0, while no animals received scores of 4 or 5. Females had higher alopecia scores than males [Mann-Whitney U:P