Chimpanzees’ working memory is not affected by the presence and activity of zoo visitors

Cognitive research in non-human primates is increasingly conducted in zoos, where zoo visitors are likely to be present and observe the testing sessions. Previous zoo research has shown that such presence can modulate cognitive performance in monkeys, but similar investigations on great apes are still lacking. Here, we investigated the influence of the presence and activity level of zoo visitors on eight chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) while they completed a working memory task with various difficulty levels. We also recorded whether their conspecifics were present or not in the testing area, and their approximate physical distance. We found that the presence and activity level of the visitors had no effect on chimpanzees’ working memory, regardless of the cognitive demands of the task. Similarly, the presence of conspecifics and how far they were from the individual being tested was not found to significantly influence performance either. These non-significant effects were supported by Bayesian analyses giving support for the null hypotheses. These results suggest that zoo-living chimpanzees are not distracted by visitors when completing a cognitive task. We suggest new directions to further explore social presence effects in great apes.