Tigers require large territories, solitary housing arrangements, and intensive enrichment to maintain welfare in captivity, while zoo populations play a role in species conservation.
Tiger welfare in captivity is constrained by a fundamental tension between the species' solitary, wide-ranging nature and the space limitations of even the best zoo exhibits. Stereotypic pacing — a reliable indicator of chronic welfare compromise — is pervasive in inadequately housed tigers globally. Welfare improvement requires large, complex enclosures that allow patrol behavior, appropriate solitary or carefully managed social housing, and intensive enrichment programs that engage hunting and territorial investigation drives. Accredited zoos that invest in evidence-based tiger welfare simultaneously advance conservation goals through coordinated subspecies breeding.