Data from: Observational approaches to chimpanzee behavior in an African sanctuary: implications for research, welfare, and capacity-building

Research in African ape sanctuaries has emerged as an important context for our understanding of comparative cognition and behavior. While much of this work has focused on experimental studies of cognition, these animals semi-free-range in forest habitats and therefore can also provide important information about the behavior of primates in socioecologically-relevant naturalistic contexts. In this ‘New Approaches’ article, we describe a project where we implemented a synthetic program of observational data collection at Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Uganda, directly modeled after long-term data collection protocols at the Kibale Chimpanzee Project in Uganda, a wild chimpanzee field site. The foundation for this project was a strong partnership between sanctuary staff, field site staff, and external researchers. We describe how we developed a data-collection protocol through discussion and collaboration among these groups, and trained sanctuary caregivers to collect novel observational data using these protocols. We use these data as a case study to examine: (1) how behavioral observations in sanctuaries can inform primate welfare and care practices, such as by understanding aggression within the group; (2) how matched observational protocols across sites can inform our understanding of primate behavior across different contexts, including sex differences in social relationships; and (3) how more robust collaborations between foreign researchers and local partners can support capacity-building in primate range countries, along with mentoring and training students more broadly.

针对非洲类人猿保护区的研究，已成为我们理解比较认知（comparative cognition）与行为的重要研究场景。尽管此类研究多聚焦于认知实验研究，但这些动物栖息于半自由放养的森林生境中，因此也能为我们提供灵长类在社会生态学相关自然情境下的行为相关重要信息。在本《新方法》（New Approaches）专栏文章中，我们将介绍一项在乌干达恩甘巴岛黑猩猩保护区（Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary）开展的综合观测数据收集项目，该项目直接参照了乌干达基巴莱黑猩猩项目（Kibale Chimpanzee Project）——一处野生黑猩猩野外研究站点——的长期数据收集规程。本项目的开展依托保护区工作人员、野外站点工作人员与外部研究人员之间的紧密协作伙伴关系。我们将详述如何通过上述三方的讨论与协作制定数据收集规程，并培训保护区护理人员使用该规程收集全新的观测数据。我们以这些数据为案例展开探讨：（1）保护区内的行为观测如何助力灵长类动物福利与饲养实践——例如通过解析群体内的攻击行为模式；（2）不同站点间统一的观测规程如何帮助我们理解不同情境下的灵长类行为，包括社会关系中的性别差异；（3）外国研究人员与本地合作伙伴之间的更稳固协作，如何能够支持灵长类分布国的能力建设，并更广泛地为学生提供指导与培训。