Visit to Japan for iCS9 conference, January 8th‐18th, 2014
Regina Paxton Gazes
Post Doctoral Fellow, Zoo Atlanta, USAThis trip was my first to Japan, but it will definitely not be my last! I was impressed throughout the trip
with the country and with the science conducted there. The scientific resources I experienced at PRI,
Koshima Island, and Kyoto Zoo displayed this country’s commitment to advancing our field, and I am
excited about the prospect of collaborating with Japanese scientists in the future.
I began my trip at the Primate Research Institute in Inuyama. Shortly after arriving, I had theopportunity to meet with Dr. Adachi and see the daily touch screen computer testing by 4 of the PRIchimpanzees.
The iCS9 conference began on January 11th. During this conference, we learned many things about social
cognition research ongoing in Japan and around the world. The diversity of research subjects, topics,and approaches presented during this short conference made for interesting discussions. Some of thehighlights for me were hearing about social networks and complex behaviors by interesting but
understudied species, such as degus, dolphins, hamsters, and squid!
On our final day in Inuyama, we had the honor to meet with Dr. Matsuzawa . We observed his researchand interactions with Ai and Ayumu, and were given a tour of the new chimpanzee facilities. This
included watching Ai and Ayumu participating in the famous masked numerical order task, which I had
read about, but was very exciting to see in person.
A small international group of scientists, led by Dr. Tomonaga, then took a three day trip to Miyazaki tovisit the monkeys on Koshima Island and a nearby wild horse sanctuary.

Map of the region with Koshima Island (middle left) and the wild horse sanctuary (bottom left).
Although I have worked with macaque monkeys for nearly 10 years, this trip to Koshima was the firsttime I have seen them in the wild, and it was very exciting. I was struck by how similar their overallbehavior was to the animals I had worked with in captivity. We were able to observe the famous wheat
washing behavior that is unique to this population of monkeys. I took many videos of this behavior aswell as grooming, foraging, and aggressive interactions to show my students!

Entrance to Koshima Island

With the monkeys at Koshima IslandIn the wild horse park, we learned about the social systems of the horses, and were able to observe
some aggressive interactions between males. It was incredible how complex the social lives of these of
these animals are when left to their own devices rather than living in a domestic environment.

Our international group visiting the wild horse
sanctuary.

Male and female pair of horses.

During this few day trip, we also had the opportunity to experience Japanese culture through food,travel, and seeing some historical sites.

Experiencing Japanese culture!
My trip ended in Kyoto, where I visited Kyoto Zoo and met with Dr. Tanaka and the zoo staff. This part of
the trip was particularly interesting to me because I also conduct research with primates at an urban zoo.
It was very interesting to see the similarities and differences in how the research is conducted and howthe animals are managed and cared for at Kyoto Zoo and at Zoo Atlanta. I was able to see thechimpanzees, gibbon, and drills participating in cognitive research. It was the first time I had seen agibbon use a touch screen computer, and I was very impressed with the very extensive and uniqueresearch system for the chimpanzees in a zoo environment. I was also able to hear from Professor
Tanaka and Mr. Nagao about some exciting advances in Gorilla management, housing, and breeding.

On‐exhibit cognitive testing room for
chimpanzees at Kyoto Zoo

Professor Tanaka and a gibbon participating inresearch on a touch screen computer at Kyoto Zoo