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Animal Welfare is the scientific assessment and measurement of how animals view the world, and includes the study of an animal’s physical, mental, and emotional states.  Dr. Nadja Wielebnowski, Manager of Conservation and Research at the Oregon Zoo, has devoted much of her career to animal welfare.  Dr. Wielebnowski has a B.S. in Biology, an M.S. in Zoology, and a Ph.D in Ecology and founded the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Animal Welfare Committee in 2001.  The Oregon Zoo is one of 240 zoos in the US that are accredited by WAZA.

Studies in neurology and hormone levels have proven that animals have emotions.  Zookeepers concerned with animal welfare look at several resources that can improve an animal’s life, such as enrichment of animal enclosures, nutrition and veterinary care, animal population management, and husbandry training for zoo staff.

Determining an individual animal’s welfare is relative.  Animals that have been injured, privately owned, or rescued from poor situations have different needs.  The Oregon Zoo’s Behavioral Research Lab has 67 volunteers who observe zoo animals and collect data about their behavior over time.  The observed behaviors are compared to an animal’s behavior in the wild to help determine health and wellbeing.  The Physiology Lab measures animal hormones that indicate stress, nutrition, and reproductive health.  Feces, saliva, fur, or feathers can be collected for hormone analysis.

A 2010 – 2014 study of 255 elephants from 70 zoos illustrates how zoos can help captive animals live better and longer.  The study found that elephants need social groups that include males, females, and calves.  It also found that the complexity of an elephant’s enclosure, such as variation in terrain, is more important that the size of the space.  In short, the space needs to be interesting and engaging.  The researchers found that diversity and unpredictability in feeding patterns provides additional interest for elephants.  In 2015, the Oregon Zoo opened its new elephant exhibit with features that promote increased activity, exploration, social contact, and communication among the pachyderms.