The article addresses the topic of great ape–keeper tactile communication. The aim of this paper is to understand whether direct physical contact can be considered a source of enrichment for captive apes and whether it could be used to enhance animal welfare in zoos. We make use of a multispecies perspective provided by umwelt theory in an attempt to determine the role of touch in zoological gardens. By referring to Konrad Lorenz, we describe keeper–animal relationships as a special case of companionship, highlighting the role of keepers in apes’ social behaviour. The paper considers social touch as the primary means used by social animals to create and maintain increasingly complex relationships. Since tactile communication in interspecific contexts has been underestimated previously, our theoretical framework allows for a better understanding of physical contact in zoological gardens without assuming an anthropocentric point of view. Our hypothesis is that physical contact with keepers may provide enriching opportunities for social animals and help strengthen the bond between animals and their keepers. We emphasize that ape–animal interactions in zoos need to involve keeper–animal physical contact as a possible means for enhancing the apes’ welfare.

中文翻译：

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作为社交伴侣的守护者：圈养猿猴的触觉交流和社交充实

本文介绍了伟大的猿猴触觉交流的主题。本文的目的是了解直接的身体接触是否可以被视为圈养猿类的致富来源，以及是否可以用于增强动物园的动物福利。我们利用遮阳伞理论提供的多物种视角来尝试确定触摸在生态花园中的作用。通过提及康拉德·洛伦兹，我们将饲养员与动物的关系描述为陪伴的一种特殊情况，强调了饲养员在猿猴社交行为中的作用。本文认为社会接触是社会动物创造和维持日益复杂的关系的主要手段。由于以前在种间环境中的触觉交流被低估了，我们的理论框架可以更好地了解动物园中的自然接触，而无需以人类为中心。我们的假设是，与饲养者的身体接触可能为社交动物提供丰富的机会，并有助于加强动物与其饲养者之间的联系。我们强调，动物园中的猿猴互动需要让饲养者与动物进行身体接触，以此作为提高猿猴福利的一种可能方法。