Rising when we fall: understanding resilience in orangutans and other great apes

Bridgeland-Stephens, Lelia ORCID: 0000-0001-7828-8890 (2024). Rising when we fall: understanding resilience in orangutans and other great apes. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Great apes in rehabilitation centres and other captive environments must have the capacity to overcome adversity. Research in humans and other animals has shown that psychological resilience can help individuals ‘bounce back’ from stress. However, there is limited existing knowledge about how resilience might underpin the survival of great apes released back into the wild, or their wellbeing in long-term captivity. The first step towards understanding the importance of resilience in these contexts is identifying techniques to measure and increase resilience in great apes. This thesis lays the groundwork for a new field of research by evaluating appropriate and effective resilience interventions for captive great apes, exploring how species and individual differences may affect stress and resilience. This research involved conducting a scoping review of resilience interventions in humans and other animals, identifying several interventions with potential applicability to great apes (Chapter 2). Building on these results, a novel resilience intervention was trialled in captive orangutans and gorillas, showing promising results in terms of the potential of this intervention to increase persistence and skill in tool-using (Chapter 3). An investigation was also conducted into the effects of a potential major stressor, i.e. the effects of a period of zoo closures in England, due to the Covid19 pandemic (2021), on orangutans and gorillas, identifying several species-specific effects and complex visitor effects (Chapter 4). Lastly, the implications of individual variation on welfare and resilience were explored in a case study of a neurologically and physically divergent orangutan, which highlighted several welfare implications as well as challenges in individually tailoring resilience interventions (Chapter 5). This thesis lays the foundation for future research
into great ape resilience, contributing to wider efforts to return great apes to the wild and, where this is not possible, to maximise the wellbeing of great apes in long-term captivity.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):