Big cats in zoos are intelligent, wide-ranging predators whose welfare depends on environmental complexity and stimulation. Enrichment programmes are central to their psychological wellbeing.
Big cats evolved as apex predators with complex spatial, sensory and predatory needs that captive environments struggle to fully satisfy. Stereotypic pacing — often dismissed as "just what big cats do in zoos" — is in fact a welfare indicator that signals chronic frustration of behavioural needs. Modern best-practice enrichment programmes address multiple domains: sensory stimulation through olfactory and auditory novelty; physical challenge through climbing structures and varied terrain; predatory motivation through feeding methods that require stalking, manipulating, and extracting food; and social complexity where species-appropriate grouping is possible. The best zoo big cat exhibits change enrichment frequently to maintain novelty, track individual preferences, and use enrichment engagement as a welfare assessment tool.