Premium
Bushmeat trade consequences predict higher anxiety, restraint, and dominance in chimpanzees
Author(s) -
Ortín Sara,
Úbeda Yulán,
Garriga Rosa M.,
Llorente Miquel
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.21853
Subject(s) - personality , psychology , dominance (genetics) , anxiety , bushmeat , big five personality traits , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , ecology , biology , biochemistry , wildlife , gene
More data are needed for a better understanding of the long‐term influence of wider and combined stressful events in chimpanzee personality development. We evaluated the effects of bushmeat trade outcomes on the personality development in 84 African sanctuary chimpanzees. The chimpanzees presented different backgrounds regarding maternal care, social exposure, and abuse. We evaluated personality traits in chimpanzees using the Cattell 16PF personality questionnaire, the first application of this questionnaire in this species. We found that chimpanzees were rated as higher in anxiety after long social deprivation during infancy and juvenility, and if high human exposure was experienced. Mother‐reared chimpanzees were rated as lower in restraint than hand‐reared chimpanzees. Finally, mother‐reared chimpanzees were rated as less dominant than hand‐reared chimpanzees and rated higher when they had experienced severe mistreatment. Results suggest a wide range of possible stressful events could be potentially shaping rescued chimpanzees’ personality and demonstrating the detrimental outcomes and consequences of the bushmeat and pet trade.