Optimal Wellbeing of Ageing Wild Animals in Human Care

Covers all aspects of professional care to support and assess optimal wellbeing
Bundles best practices and scientific philosophies
Illustrative and carefully designed with personal stories of ageing individuals

This book is dedicated to all ageing animals everywhere and the people who care for them. Winnie the Pooh was wise (as always), let’s all take his advice to heart and listen to animals as well as talk to them.

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About this book

Many wild animals in human care live longer than their wild counterparts because of modern care and wellbeing programmes, leading to a growing demographic of ageing animals. This handbook is dedicated to their care. As an innovative expert publication, it integrates all aspects of professional care, including topics such as behaviour, ethics, environmental enrichment, training, veterinary care, nutrition and habitat design.

Each animal is unique in their preferences, physical and emotional needs. Ageing animals may change their behaviour, alter the use space, and may also experience events and their relationships with their carers differently than they used to. The ageing process and death of an individual can be a significant event for others in their group, as well as the human carers.

This book consolidates best practices for supporting and assessing optimal ageing animal wellbeing. It describes practical and science-informed approaches and philosophies regarding the care of ageing wild animals in zoos, aquariums, sanctuaries, universities and laboratories in a single source. This is an invaluable reference for veterinarians, animal care professionals, animal welfare researchers and students, and anyone with an interest in caring for animals.

Personal stories and beautiful images of ageing individuals brightening the start of each chapter and remind us that what we do must be in the best interest of the animal and be at the heart of their care.

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Table of contents (15 chapters)

Front Matter
Holistic Approaches to Optimal Wellbeing of Ageing Wild Animals
Sabrina Brando, Sarah Chapman
Aging Gracefully: Compassion for Nonhuman Animal Elders
Joachim Nieuwland, Franck Meijboom
The Importance of Meaningful Record-Keeping in Caring for Ageing Wild Animals
Max Norman, Sarah Chapman, Sabrina Brando
Facility Design for Ageing Wild Animals
Jon C. Coe
Environmental Enrichment for Ageing Animals in Zoos
Julian Chapman
The Role of Learning and Training for Ageing Animal Care and Wellbeing
Sabrina Brando, Debra Marrin
Supporting Geriatric Zoo Animal Welfare Through Nutrition
Francis Cabana, Amy Plowman
Veterinary Care of Ageing Animals in Zoos: Description of a Proactive Approach
Sarah Chapman, Phillipa Dobbs
Pain: Physiology, Recognition, and Management in Zoo Animals
Heather Bacon
Physiotherapy and Management of the Musculoskeletal Health of Ageing Wild Animals in Human Care
Matthew Shackleton, Louise Lefrere
Euthanasia of Geriatric Zoo Animals: Decision-Making and Procedure
Sarah Chapman, Julian Chapman, James Chatterton
The Longevity Legacy: The Challenges of Old Animals in Zoos
Andrew C. Kitchener
Mourning-Like Behaviour in a Malayan Sun Bear
Friederike Schmitz, Simone Schehka
Caring for Elderly Wild Animals: The Human Experience
Sabrina Brando, Mickey Gjerris, Nicola Field, Lynette Hart
The View from Beyond the Fence: Ageing Zoo Animals and Communicating with the Outside World
Philip Knowling
Back Matter

I would love to read & action these topics!

Meet some of the elderly individuals you will meet in the book 💚

Meet the editors

This book was edited by Sabrina Brando and Sarah Chapman, and by nature, a collaborative effort. We want to thank all the wonderful co-authors for their contributions to bringing this book into being, including all the individual animal stories such as Jade, Rupert, and Haha. We also want to thank our editor Annette Klaus and the team at Springer Nature for their support and the invitation to create this book.

Sabrina Brando

Sabrina Brando is a changemaker at INTERBEING AnimalConcepts & PhD Researcher, uniting people and organisations on 6 continents through interconnected consultancy, events, and online platforms that combine wellbeing for peoples, other animals, the greater community of life, and the planet we share.

Dr Sarah Chapman

Co-owner of Chapman Zoo Consultancy, qualified as a veterinarian in June 2000, Sarah is an experienced zoo veterinary surgeon with a background in working with mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates in several large zoos in the United Kingdom.

Sabrina and Sarah at the 2nd seminar on Optimal wellbeing for ageing wild animals AnimalConcepts organised, hosted by the Allwetterzoo Münster in Germany, in 2017.

Caring for elderly animals in human care is a responsibility bringing a range of joys and sorrows, as editors we are grateful for all who contributed to the co-creation of this resourceful and engaging book.

This book illuminates ageing animals and puts forth the importance of a holistic approach interconnecting all aspects of their care. The ultimate aim is supporting a good life and a good death. The late global spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh describes connection as interbeing. “To inter-be and the action of interbeing reflects reality, we inter-are with one another and with all life.” Our relationship and care for animals, past, present, and future, is at the heart and the purpose of this book. Together with all contributors we invite you take action for the benefit of ageing animals.

8 January 2023
Arès, France

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Purpose and values

We are committed to helping all people care for other animals, planet, and for themselves

One Care

We are committed to animal, human, and planetary wellbeing

Diversity, Inclusion, & Equity

We are dedicated to creating a more diverse, equal, and inclusive world for all

Connect with us

Do you have a question? A suggestion or idea you want to share? Use the contact form we will get back to you shortly! You can also email us on sbrando(@)animalconcepts.eu