Modern veterinary care has extended zoo animal lifespans, creating a growing population of senior animals with age-related welfare needs. Senior zoo animal care is an emerging welfare frontier.
Zoo geriatric animal welfare represents an emerging frontier as improved care extends animal lifespans into territory that zoo management has limited experience navigating. A 50-year-old elephant or 60-year-old chimpanzee has age-related physical and cognitive changes that require modified husbandry and intensive health monitoring. Pain from arthritis must be recognized and managed — often challenging in stoic species. Cognitive decline affects how senior animals respond to social companions and environmental changes. End-of-life decisions require weighing quality of life against survival with the same considerations that guide companion animal euthanasia decisions. Zoos developing geriatric care programs are building the knowledge base needed to ensure that longer zoo lives are genuinely good lives.