Modern zoo enclosure design prioritizes naturalistic environments that give animals meaningful choices and opportunities to express species-typical behaviors, moving far beyond the concrete enclosures of the past.
Well-designed zoo enclosures allow animals to thermoregulate, choose social contact or solitude, engage in foraging behavior, and retreat from stressors including visitors. Poorly designed enclosures that prevent these choices produce chronic stress responses, immunosuppression, and stereotypies. The shift from aesthetics-first to welfare-first design represents one of the most significant improvements in zoo animal care over the past three decades.