How modern zoos meet the complex social, cognitive, and physical needs of western lowland gorillas in managed care.
Gorilla welfare in captivity requires environmental complexity that matches their extraordinary cognitive and social needs. Regurgitation and reingestion, endemic in poorly managed captive populations, reflects the mismatch between intensive feeding and the foraging time budget gorillas evolved for. Scatter feeding and puzzle feeders that require cognitive effort to access food dramatically reduce this behavior. Social group composition and stability are primary welfare determinants: gorilla groups require appropriate age and sex compositions managed by experienced staff. Gorillas' high intelligence makes them particularly sensitive to boredom and social stress, and particularly responsive to enrichment. Conservation breeding for this critically endangered species provides genuine conservation justification when welfare standards are appropriate.