Mandrills are the world's largest monkeys and among the most socially complex primates in captivity. Their welfare depends on the formation of stable, multi-individual social groups with appropriate age and sex composition.
Mandrill welfare is inseparable from social group quality. Isolated or impoverished social environments produce stereotypic behaviours, increased aggression, and reproductive dysfunction. The vivid colouration of males — a biological indicator of health and reproductive fitness — often fades in poorly managed captive individuals, reflecting physiological stress. Best-practice facilities manage mandrills in multi-female groups with one or two males, provide complex foraging challenges, and rotate enrichment to prevent habituation. Introductions between unfamiliar individuals must be carefully managed to avoid serious injury, and subordinate animals should have refuges where they can avoid dominant group members.