Animal Wellness at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens
Our wellness team conducts welfare and wellness-related research to ensure that the animals living in our care are given opportunities to thrive. Wellness begins with a deep understanding of the preferences and needs of each species in the Zoo.
The more the animals demonstrate positive natural behaviors, such as play or exploration, the more likely that wellness has been achieved. This requires attention to the Five Domains: behavioral, physical, nutritional, environmental and mental. Through the first four observable domains, we may get a better sense of the mental state of the animal and therefore its true state of wellness.
In 2018, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums implemented a new accreditation requirement that institutions, “must follow a written process for assessing animal welfare and wellness.” This requirement is both a proactive and a reactive process, including training of staff and creating a framework to document, evaluate and improve animal welfare and wellness.
To learn more about the AZA accreditation process, visit AZA’s website.
Every year, each animal at the Zoo is assessed, and we have over 2,000 animals! Based on how an animal (or groups of animals) score on the assessment, further action is taken collectively by animal care, wellness and other relevant staff to better understand how we can improve their lives to ensure that they are thriving. These annual assessments also act as a baseline to help us improve monitoring and care practices for animals throughout the year.
Meet Our Wildlife Wellness Team

The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens wellness department is one of the world’s most productive animal welfare programs, with students, staff and faculty partners publishing many high-quality research papers annually. The Zoo’s Wildlife Wellness team currently includes:
Snapshot of Research
Research is an essential component to furthering the knowledge and understanding of what improves animal wellness, both under human care and in wild environments. Our goal is to not just improve the wellness of animals in our care but of animals everywhere.
We use the assessments to help guide our research focuses for staff and students alike. Based on assessment scores, wellness staff uses that information to develop and conduct a study to determine what may be impacting the animal’s well-being and to potentially improve and/or sustain the environmental factor(s) involved. Some examples include:
Interested in research?
Are you interested in the research we do? Consider becoming a volunteer or intern! Or, do you have your own study in mind? Submit an inquiry to research@jacksonvillezoo.org (Professional affiliation required, for example: university or college, zoological/aquatic or research institution, or sanctuary.)
Our Commitment to Wildlife Wellness Extends Beyond Our Walls
Our ability to learn more about the behavior and wellness of our animal residents is enhanced by our working relationship with university partners at the University of North Florida and the University of Florida, as well as the South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction & Conservation. The Zoo is also part of the Project Advisory Committee for ZooMonitor, a behavioral research software developed by Lincoln Park Zoo that is used “to collect data that will aid in making and evaluating management decisions that impact animal [wellness].”