At first glance, it may seem easy to tell whether a dolphin is doing well. If it is swimming normally, eating, and appears healthy, we might think that is enough. However, animal welfare science has shown that the answer is much more complex.
Today, specialists around the world use the Five Domains Model of Animal Welfare adopted by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), a scientific tool that helps assess different aspects of an animal’s life to better understand its welfare. This model examines five areas: nutrition, environment, health, behavior, and mental state.
So, how can we tell whether a dolphin is doing well? These five questions help answer that.
The first sign of welfare begins with something fundamental: nutrition.
Specialists assess whether the dolphin receives a diet suited to its nutritional needs, maintains a healthy body condition, and eats normally.
But welfare goes beyond simply receiving food. How it is obtained also matters. That is why modern animal care programs use activities that turn feeding into an opportunity to stimulate exploration, curiosity, and problem-solving.
When a dolphin maintains good physical condition and actively participates in these activities, we are observing positive signs that form part of the nutrition domain.
It is very important to us that dolphins do not live in monotonous, predictable environments.
That is why the second domain assesses whether the environment offers opportunities to explore, discover new things, and interact with different stimuli.
Environmental enrichment programs make it possible to introduce objects, activities, and challenges that help keep dolphins physically and mentally active. The goal is for them to use their cognitive abilities and continue interacting dynamically with their environment.
An enriched environment does more than provide variety. It can also foster positive experiences throughout the day.
3. Is It Healthy?
Health remains an essential part of animal welfare.
Specialists continually monitor physical parameters and conduct preventive veterinary assessments to verify that the animal remains in good health.
The absence of disease, injury, or discomfort is an important foundation for welfare. However, current science recognizes that an animal can be healthy while other aspects of its life still need to be assessed.
That is why health is a fundamental domain, but not the only one.
Dolphins are curious and social animals.
One of the most important questions in assessing their welfare is whether they have opportunities to express species-typical behaviors: exploring, playing, interacting with other dolphins, investigating new objects, learning, and participating in different activities.
This is particularly important for wild animals living in managed environments, where the goal is for them to retain behaviors expected of their species; in dolphins, jumping is one example of such behavior.
Research on environmental enrichment has shown that cognitive challenges and problem-solving activities can promote complex behaviors and positive experiences.
The broader the repertoire of behaviors a dolphin can display, the more information specialists gain about its welfare.
The final domain is perhaps the most important because it brings together all the information from the previous domains.
Nutrition, the environment, health, and behavior create experiences for the animal. Some may be positive, such as curiosity, interest, comfort, or confidence. Others may be associated with stress, fear, or frustration.
That is why specialists analyze the four previous domains to better understand the animal’s mental state.
In other words, this question seeks to answer something we have all wondered at some point: beyond how it looks, what is its day-to-day life really like?
When we observe a dolphin for a few minutes, we see only a small part of its life. Assessing its welfare requires much more than a quick impression.
That is why institutions committed to the highest standards of care use scientific tools such as the Five Domains Model to continuously monitor nutrition, the environment, health, behavior, and the experiences animals have.
Because ultimately, determining whether a dolphin is doing well is not simply a matter of asking whether it is healthy. The real question is whether it has the conditions it needs to develop its abilities, interact with its environment, and experience a life rich in opportunities and positive experiences.