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ZooMonitor Community: A Tool for Evaluating Population-Level Behavior Questions
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Animal Welfare Science Program, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL 60614, USA
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South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction & Conservation, Yulee, FL 32097, USA
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AZA Population Management Center, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL 60614, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2026, 16(12), 1822; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16121822 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 16 April 2026
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Revised: 22 May 2026
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Accepted: 1 June 2026
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Published: 12 June 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of Social Behaviours and Population on Conservation Breeding Programmes and Zoo Animal Welfare)
Simple Summary
Animals living in modern, accredited zoos and aquariums are cooperatively managed across hundreds of organizations. Naturally, how animals are cared for can vary between organizations, from the size of habitats, the number of social partners, the types of food provided, and much more. Understanding how these factors can influence animal well-being and reproduction is of critical importance for zoos and aquariums as they seek to identify best (or better) practices. Comparing animal behavior across organizations has been the primary way to evaluate these factors but can be challenging with existing tools. To address this need, Lincoln Park Zoo launched the ZooMonitor Community, an expansion of the freely available ZooMonitor behavior data collection platform. The ZooMonitor Community introduces new ways to collaborate and share data across zoos and aquariums. Built-in features simplify and streamline project management. We provide a detailed overview of the ZooMonitor Community tool and highlight several recent Community projects on diverse taxa, including giraffes, Asian small-clawed otters, common seadragons, and southern ground hornbills. We hope the ZooMonitor Community can provide population managers with an accessible tool to address broad, species-level questions on care, well-being, and reproduction that can enhance the lives of animals in managed settings.
Abstract
From plains zebras to zebra sharks, modern, accredited zoos and aquariums cooperate on the breeding and transfer of individuals from diverse species with unique needs. As a result, the housing and husbandry of a species varies across organizations. The degree to which these practices align with a species’ needs can influence well-being and reproduction. As a key measure of well-being, animal behavior is often the most practical and useful tool for evaluating the impact of housing and husbandry on animals. However, studies conducted at a single organization can be limited in their ability to explore these factors and a multi-institutional approach is needed. Recently, Lincoln Park Zoo launched the ZooMonitor Community, an expansion of the ZooMonitor behavior recording platform. This new collaboration tool is freely available to all zoos and aquariums to facilitate multi-institutional data sharing and project management. Here, we provide an overview of the ZooMonitor Community tool and highlight several recent Community projects on diverse taxa, including giraffes, Asian small-clawed otters, common seadragons, and southern ground hornbills. We hope the ZooMonitor Community can provide population managers with an accessible tool to address broad, species-level questions on care, well-being, and reproduction that can enhance the lives of animals in managed settings.
Keywords:
animal behavior; multi-institutional; zoo; aquarium; collaboration
