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Wild Work
Mission
NOVA Wild’s animal welfare mission is to ensure optimal welfare for all animals in our care.
Our approach is to provide animal welfare educational training for our staff to create an environment that has animal welfare at its core. We ensure optimal welfare outcomes for our animals by empowering our staff to identify welfare challenges and to implement continuous improvement. We will create innovative approaches to offering positive welfare opportunities through an understanding of each animal’s unique characteristics, behaviors, and adaptations.
Vision
NOVA Wild’s animal welfare vision is to be recognized by its community as having animal welfare as a top priority.
The pathway to becoming recognized by our community is to create positive welfare experiences for our animals through evidence-based management decisions and verification of the effectiveness of our implementations, and to promote our efforts through the creative vision of our staff.
Approach
NOVA Wild employs high quality personnel well versed in animal welfare, behavior, and training, as well as public communication and entertainment.
Professional training in animal welfare is provided to each employee by a scientific expert in the field. Our team uses their expertise to consistently improve our animals’ welfare through innovative enrichment and assessment.
Definition
NOVA Wild defines animal welfare as an animal’s collective physical, mental, and emotional states over a period of time, measured on a continuum from poor to good.
Global Partners
NOVA Wild is committed to animal outreach.
NOVA Wild partners with WorthWild Africa, a South African non-profit organization committed to supporting projects that research, monitor and conserve African wildlife.
NOVA Wild brings nature up close and personal
Creating a Space Where Wildlife Thrives
Let’s be honest, human beings have a long history of mistreating our fellow members of the animal kingdom. That’s why NOVA Wild, along with other conscientious zoos, go to great lengths to care for the wildlife under their stewardship. Our Animal Welfare Mission is to ensure optimal welfare for all animals in our care, and we achieve this through expert guidance, staff training, and enrichment opportunities for every species that lives here.
Expert Guidance
NOVA Wild has partnered with leading animal welfare experts at The Kuzo Group, LLC—along with veterinarians who keep our animals healthy and staff who look after their day-to-day wellbeing.
Proper Training
Each NOVA Wild employee receives professional training in animal welfare from scientific experts. Our team uses their training to regularly assess each animal’s physical, mental, and emotional states at regular intervals. When we find an animal struggling for any reason, we address it immediately.
Enrichment Opportunities
In keeping with the latest research, we provide all of NOVA Wild’s animals with enrichment opportunities—from the primates to the Madagascar hissing cockroaches! This includes regular novel experiences, including a variety of healthy foods and new sights, sounds, and scents that keep them engaged and happy. Cheetahs, for example, love new scents, including spices and perfumes, along with new toys to chew on. Primates like to taste new treats and stretch their minds with puzzles throughout the day. And those hissing cockroaches? They thrive when we change their enclosure regularly and switch up their meals.
Accreditation
NOVA Wild has secured the highest levels of accreditation, above and beyond federal, state, and local requirements. We’re also certified by both the Zoological Association of America and American Humane.