Meet Elle.  She is a Crossbred sheep who is pregnant with twins. Elle is part of a maternal nutrition study focused on maintaining fetal growth in women that experience maternal constraint, a poorly understood disorder that limits fetal growth during pregnancy. The goal of the study is to determine the…

Monkeys 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.

Nonhuman 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…

Monkeys 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…

The 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…

Marmosets were a critical model for understanding the effects of Zika infections on pregnant mothers.  In mid-2018, six national primate research centers conducted a collaborative study. It showed pregnancy loss due to Zika infections that don’t generate any symptoms in women may be a common, but unrecognized cause of unexpected…