Facilitating social harmony in a primate group (1996)

O'Neill-Wagner, P. L.

Abstract

Installing an inexpensive electric net fencing system offered safe and innovative separation to two groups of monkeys in the field enclosure. Animals with incentive to transfer between areas successfully penetrated the electric net fence by leaping over it, or darting through the mesh openings at the risk of being zapped by a pulsating (high voltage, low amperage) electric shock. This challenging, yet penetrable fence was functional to monkeys in the following ways. The socially evicted males were able to leave their natal group when the time was approaching. When responses by animals on the other side of the fence indicated that it was safe to return, they would do so. This system functions in a positive way by providing evidence of tension between and within groups, offering escape routes during aggressive interactions, reducing the potential for injuries, and offering investigators an opportunity to maximize their social behavioral research.