When Time Leaves Its Marks...
The Reality of Animal Aging
Aging is often perceived as a strictly human reality. Yet it also affects animals, including those living in zoological environments. And while some things gain value with time, such as experience, wisdom, or a good wine, the passing years also bring their share of challenges, for humans and animals alike.
Extended Longevity… and New Responsibilities
In nature, few animals reach an advanced age. Predation, disease, scarcity of resources, or environmental pressures often limit their life expectancy.
In zoological settings, the reality is quite different.
Thanks to carefully designed habitats, diets tailored to each individual, constant veterinary monitoring, and advanced medical care, many animals today live well beyond the age they would have reached in the wild.
This increased longevity is an achievement in itself, but it also comes with new responsibilities. Because aging means change.
As with humans, age can bring physical, cognitive, and behavioral changes that influence an animal’s well‑being and quality of life.
Relieve, Adapt, and Support
Caring for a geriatric animal requires special attention and heightened expertise. It means learning to recognize its “new normal”: distinguishing what is part of natural aging from what may signal pain, discomfort, or illness.
Animal care and veterinary teams keep an even closer eye on each individual’s behaviors, mobility, appetite, social interactions, and activity levels.
The challenge is twofold: relieving age‑related discomfort while continuing to offer opportunities for positive well‑being.
Encouraging the animal to move at its own pace, maintaining an adequate body condition, providing enrichment adapted to its abilities, and increasing choices, resting places, types of stimulation, interactions, etc, all help preserve autonomy, dignity, and quality of life.
Tumbili Under Attentive Care
A real‑world example of this reality is Tumbili, our male mandrill. Born at Zoo de Granby in 2004, the colorful primate grew up here before spending a few years at the Calgary Zoo, then returning to Granby in 2018 to take over as clan leader. But recently, teams observed a decrease in his daily activities and signs of discomfort.
Veterinary examinations revealed osteoarthritis in his knees, shoulders, and hips, as well as degenerative changes in his spine, a diagnosis that clearly explained the mobility loss observed. From there, a personalized care plan was put in place: medication to relieve pain, adjustments to his environment, additional structures to support comfort and freedom of movement, and enrichment designed to encourage activity, always at the animal’s own pace.
Today, Tumbili continues to thrive within his group, closely supported by teams who adapt his care according to changes in his condition. His story illustrates what it means to grow old in a zoological environment: care grounded in compassion, science, and respect.
Tumbili sous le bistouri
As animals in accredited zoos and aquariums reach increasingly advanced ages, the question is no longer just how to extend life, but how to ensure it remains rich, comfortable, and conducive to well‑being at every stage. Supporting our geriatric residents means recognizing their journey and continuing, day after day, to offer them the best possible quality of life.
