Mandrills are highly social, colorful primates whose welfare in captivity depends on appropriate troop size, social complexity, and enrichment opportunities.
Mandrill welfare in zoos requires troop management that respects complex social dynamics. Unlike smaller cercopithecids, mandrills form extremely large wild troops — captive groups of 10-20 are far below natural troop size but are manageable and can demonstrate reasonable social welfare. Dominant males display intense facial coloration that signals status; subordinate males are often dispersed from large troops. Scatter feeding prevents food monopolization by dominant individuals. Visual complexity with multiple feeding locations and refuges allows subordinate animals to avoid dominant individuals. Foraging enrichment — buried food, scatter feeding, browse — occupies large amounts of time productively. Conservation urgency for mandrills is primarily about hunting pressure reduction in range countries.