PERSONALITY-ASSESSMENT IN THE GORILLA AND ITS UTILITY AS A MANAGEMENTTOOL

Goals of the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP) include increased cap tive propagation, maintenance of genetic diversity, and consideration of the psychological well-being of the population. The SSP Propagation Group has attempted to accomplish these goals through recommendations based on assessment of genetic, behavioral, and demographic variables . A need is recognized for the development of a methodology to assess behavioral variables that contribute to the success of animal moves. P ersonality profiles have been used in the past to aid animal managemen t decisions in laboratory settings. This paper describes personality a ssessment techniques, reviews historical perspectives on primate perso nality assessment, and reports on a study to assess gorilla personalit y. The Gorilla Behavior Index (GBI), a subjective assessment instrumen t consisting of behaviorally based adjectives, was completed for 298 o f 303 captive gorillas over 1 year of age. The results were subjected to common factor analysis, resulting in the identification of four mai n factors: extroverted, dominant, fearful, and understanding. Frequenc y distributions were calculated illustrating the ranges of each factor . Potential management uses for the GBI scores are discussed. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.