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methods, that allow identification of mate preferences even when individuals are housed in different facilities (Asa et al., 2011). In line with this idea, the current dissertation explores whether simple cognitive tasks are suitable for identifying mate preferences of zoo-housed Bornean orang-utans (P. pygmaeus). As it is challenging to validate such methods in orang-utans (e.g., by linking them to reproductive success), similar cognitive tasks were presented to a human sample in combination with measures of explicit mate preferences. Although results from humans are not directly generalisable, this approach may help identifying tasks that have the potential to determine mate preferences in zoo-housed orangutans.Given that practical research with animals rarely receives funding via conventional funders, it has been challenging to obtain sufficient resources to realise the project. In the end, this project is made possible by generous donations from multiple zoos within the orang-utan EEP: Allwetter Zoo, Apenheul Primate Park, Dublin Zoo, Ouwehands Dierenpark, Taipei Zoo, Zoo Barcelona, Zoo Osnabrück, Zoologischer Stadtgarten Karlsruhe, Zoo Zürich, & Wilhelma Zoologisch-Botanischer Garten. Furthermore, it is important to note that this research project was heavily impacted by the COVID19 pandemic. Especially during the start, when the risk of COVID19 for great apes was still unclear, no risk was taken and experiments were halted. Not surprisingly, this has had a large impact on the amount of data that could be gathered with the orang-utans. Therefore, the results presented in this dissertation mostly focus on attentional tasks. However, we are still broadening our scope by running new studies on this topic and hope that this will allow us to develop multiple suitable tasks encompassing different aspects of mate choice in the future, resulting in a more refined breeding programme.Preface13Tom Roth.indd 13 08-01-2024 10:41