Coat condition, housing condition and measurement of faecal cortisol metabolites--a non-invasive study about alopecia in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) (2006)

Steinmetz, H. W., Kaumanns, W., Dix, I. et al.

Abstract

Hair loss was found to vary with season and sex, was most pronounced in adult females during the winter and spring months. the housing system, available enclosure space and variations in group size and composition also appeared to influence coat condition. Levels of immunoreactive cortisol metabolites (11-oxoetiocholanolone) in faeces were significantly negatively correlated with alopecia, suggesting a relationship between hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and hair loss in captive rhesus macaques.