REPRODUCTION OF THE OWL MONKEY (AOTUS SPP) IN CAPTIVITY

The reproduction performance of captive owl monkeys, a breed used exte nsively in biomedical research, was observed at the Battelle Primate F acility (BPF). The colony grew through captive breeding, imports from the Peruvian Primatological Project, and others to a peak size of 730. It included seven karyotypes of Aotus sp. Results showed that owl mon keys can breed successfully in a laboratory in numbers sufficient to s ustain modest research programs. Reproductive success increases when p airs are compatible, of the same karyotype, and stabilized; however, m ated pairs of different karyotype are also productive. Under condition s of controlled lighting and heating, owl monkeys at BPF showed no bir th peak nor birth season.