Short-term effects of an environmental enrichment program for adult cynomolgus monkeys (2002)

Turner, P., Grantham, L. E.

Abstract

We evaluated the overall effect of our environmental enrichment program in 40 newly arrived male and female adult cynomolgus monkeys. ... Behaviors were assessed over a 5-week period. .. Animals that had environmental enrichment made use of additional cage space, toys, and foraging items, but trends in observed in-cage behavior patterns were relatively unchanged throughout the course of the study. After study completion, physical evidence of self-trauma was found in 25% of the nonenriched animals but not in any of those in the enriched group. Enrichment had no notable effect on body weight or training time for a simple activity. Our findings suggest that provision of a comprehensive environmental enrichment program provides a beneficial effect to adult cynomolgus macaques singly housed short-term.