Amur tigers are the world's largest cats and cold-climate specialists. Zoo welfare requires large enclosures with cooling options, expert breeding management, and active support for wild population recovery in Russia and China.
Amur tiger welfare in captivity benefits from their relative hardiness compared to tropical subspecies — they tolerate a wide temperature range and can be kept in outdoor exhibits in temperate climates year-round. Key welfare requirements include large enclosures with multiple zones that allow purposeful territory-like movement, pools for swimming and thermoregulation in summer, and enrichment engaging hunting motivation. As the largest cats, Amur tigers require robust enclosure infrastructure capable of containing animals of exceptional size and strength. Breeding management coordinates globally through AZA and EAZA SSPs — pairings are carefully selected to maintain genetic diversity in a population founded by a limited number of individuals. Welfare monitoring should include regular assessment of body condition, stereotypy levels, and reproductive success as indicators of individual and population welfare. Zoos should actively fund Russian Far East anti-poaching and habitat protection programmes.