All research animals, from tiny fish to curious monkeys, receive daily health checks. Pictured here are two baby rats being evaluated by their animal caregiver. Their eyes, ears, color, condition of fur and behavior are all assessed daily to ensure good health. These interactions also help build a positive relationship…
View and ShareHere a husbandry technician is providing food enrichment to rhesus macaques in their corral. This kind of positive interaction between monkeys and their caretakers can improve well-being for the animals (or, for the animals and the humans!).
View and ShareHamsters are important in many research areas, including cancer, reproduction, virology, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Hamsters and humans metabolize fats and sugars in similar ways, leading to susceptibility to atherosclerosis and diabetes. When fed high fat diets, hamsters’ LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) will elevate, as in humans, and lead…
Visit Species PageThis is the Oregon National Primate Research Center Nonhuman Primate Training Specialist. She is training a monkey, Finch, in a group to take medication, which allows him to stay in his colony, instead of being removed to the hospital. Avoiding such removals helps to reduce not only the stress to…
View and ShareMonkeys are given enrichment such as toys, swings, climbing structures and other items to increase their behavioral diversity. Many of these objects are rotated on a regular basis, to keep them novel. This indoor enclosure for the monkeys at Oregon National Primate Research Center provides many opportunities that encourage natural…
View and ShareThe Oregon National Primate Research Center is currently evaluating various forms of research methods to improve traditional cognitive testing. This Rhesus macaque is using a touchscreen to determine his cognitive ability as part of a neuroscience research project. He is being shown a video of other monkeys, in place of…
View and ShareNonhuman primates, like these Rhesus macaques, are naturally curious. They spend a great deal of time foraging and investigating novel objects in their natural habitats. Environmental enrichment provides a way to simulate a natural environment for monkeys that are needed for research. This increases opportunities for the expression of species-typical…
View and ShareMonkeys at the Oregon National Primate Research Center are provided with many types of environmental enrichment to simulate a natural environment. In the summer the monkeys have access to pools and other forms of water enrichment. Here you can see them enjoying a refreshing dip in their pool.
View and ShareResearch with horses is most often part of a One Health initiative where research for both animals and humans advance side by side. Veterinary studies to improve horse health are often translated to improve human health. Horses get many human-like diseases such as, inflammation of the cellular layer of the…
Visit Species PageRats have long been a valuable model in research to answer many questions about physiology, immunology, pharmacology, toxicology, nutrition, behavior, and learning. They have contributed to medical advances for obesity, diabetes and cancer, as well as those for cardiovascular, neurological, inflammatory and immune mediated diseases.
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