Mandrills are highly social primates with complex multi-male, multi-female group structures whose welfare in captivity depends critically on appropriate social management and enriched environments.
Mandrill welfare in captivity depends on the quality of social management and environmental complexity provided. Groups with chronic social instability show high rates of aggression, stress hormone elevation, and behavioral restriction. The extreme social complexity of wild mandrill society cannot be fully replicated in captivity, but stable groups with appropriate sex ratios and age structures provide significantly better welfare than poorly managed compositions. Behavioral enrichment that provides cognitive challenge and foraging opportunity is essential for a species with such complex natural behavioral repertoire.