Lincoln Park Zoo

The study of animal behavior focuses on how animals interact with their environment. By analyzing behavior, scientists develop an understanding of the apes’ learning processes, motivations, physical abilities, sensory adaptations and social structure. This information is then used to make decisions about managing animals in zoos and in the wild. 

Social Spacing
The social spacing project studies how the zoo’s great apes interact with their environments. Detailed map-interface software is used to record in three-dimensional space each ape’s location in context to the exhibit and social group. By understanding how apes utilize their exhibits, managers can adjust the environments to match the apes’ behavioral needs. Likewise, data on how the apes cluster or diffuse in groups helps us monitor their complex social dynamics.

Systematic monitoring provides scientists with a steady flow of standardized data and includes an assessment of how the apes use their habitats. This makes it easier to meet the animals’ physical and psychological needs. At Lincoln Park Zoo researchers track ape behavior daily.

Ape Behavior Internship At The Fisher Center
The Fisher Center offers opportunities for aspiring primatologists to gain valuable experience in a rigorous scientific environment and be part of a long-term, established program in ape behavioral science. The encouragement and training of the next generation of primatologists is a key aspect of the Fisher Center’s mission. Click here for more information.