Harding, K. 2012. Assessment of a temperament test for use in pairing adult male Macaca fascicularis. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 636 (Abstract #PS34).
Our NHP import quarantine facility has close to a 90% success rate with pairing adult male (> 5 kg) cynomolgus macaques. Given the challenges of pairing adult male NHP, our goal was to determine if a formalized system of temperament testing could be reliable and used to increase pairing success. We used a modified human intruder paradigm based on the work of Kalin and colleagues in which a human observer stands in neutral body position at the cage front and assesses the behavioral repertoire of the animal. The behaviors presented in the direction of the human observer are then used to classify the animal into one of 5 categories: dominant, neutral, affiliative, anxious, or fearful. Upon release from quarantine, 91 animals were temperament assessed. Repeat testing 2 wk later revealed 75% of the repeat temperament tests were either the same or within one score along the spectrum of the original temperament, and only 7% (n = 7) were more than 2 scores different than the original testing, suggesting that assessments were relatively consistent over time. We retrospectively looked at temperaments of 78 adult male pairs that had a 92% success rate (72 of 78). The majority of the successful pairs, 40 of 78, were either neutral/neutral, neutral/ affiliative, or dominant/anxious pairings. Failed pairs were either in anxious/anxious, affiliative/ fearful, dominant/anxious or neutral/ neutral pairings. No dominant/dominant pairings were attempted. While we do not yet have enough data between all temperament types to determine statistical significance, the results suggest that neutral pairings were most successful, and that fearful or anxious animals were difficult to pair. We plan on continuing to use and monitor the results of this technique in hopes that a clearer pattern emerges with the potential for being a useful tool in increasing success rates of pairing adult male cynos.