Development and implementation of a behavioral assessment system in howler monkey rehabilitation

Behavioral assessment in animals being rehabilitated for release into the wild is essential. This is especially true for complex species with a prolonged infant and juvenile period, such as howler monkeys, which should not be released before 2.5 to 3 years of age.

I have developed a behavioral monitoring system for howler monkey rehabilitation. This system consists of a multi-option evaluation methodology, depending on whether observers are able to identify the individual animals (since most of the observers are volunteers who only stay for 3-4 months at the center).

The first method (for when the animals can be identified) is a focal record activated by instantaneous time units for an activity budget, while the second method (for when the animals cannot be identified, which is the most common scenario) is a multifocal record of key behaviors activated by 1/0 time units. In this case, we plan to conduct approximately 4 daily observation sessions, each lasting 5 minutes with 15-second intervals, distributed across 4 different time periods throughout the day.

These behavior records have been developed from August to October 2024, and began being tested at the end of October 2024.

With this system, we hope to establish a methodology that will help in identifying whether the animals are ready for release, assess how their behavior evolves according to different independent variables with which it may correlate, and determine which management practices contribute to improved behavior for the successful release of howler monkeys.