What does it mean for an animal to have a physical disability? As human-induced environmental change increasingly impacts species and ecosystems in every part of the world, understanding behavioural flexibility and how animals cope with challenges can point to the selection pressures animals face and help us develop conservation strategies. Physical disabilities can drive wild and free-ranging animals to adjust their behaviours in order to solve daily challenges associated with survival, social living and reproduction. A group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) on Awaji Island, Japan, provides a unique opportunity to examine behavioural flexibility and disability-associated behaviours in a free-ranging nonhuman primate species. Since 1967, about 16% of infants have been born with physical disabilities in the form malformations of the limbs and digits. In this seminar, I will tell the story of the Awajishima monkeys and illustrate it by presenting data on detailed examples of Japanese macaque behavioural flexibility – grooming and feeding styles.

Sarah Turner has studied Japanese macaques and disability for more than 20 years at the Awajishima Monkey Center in Japan. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Calgary (2010), was an FRQNT postdoctoral fellow in Biology at McGill, and is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia University, in Montreal, Canada. Sarah uses primate behavioural ecology and environmental science lens to in her research on Japanese macaques in Japan, and recently with two species of capuchin monkey in Brazil.