Great apes and other primates have complex cognitive needs that require structured enrichment to prevent boredom, frustration, and abnormal repetitive behaviours.
Primates held in zoos face the particular challenge that their cognitive capabilities mean boredom is a real and serious welfare problem. Simply providing enough food and space is insufficient — the brain needs to work. Best practice in primate cognitive enrichment involves daily variation, novel problem-solving opportunities, feeding enrichment that requires effort to obtain, and training based on positive reinforcement that provides mental engagement. Social complexity also matters: primates need companions with whom they can form and maintain relationships. Institutions that treat enrichment as an optional extra rather than a core component of animal care will produce animals with compromised welfare regardless of other conditions.