Amur tigers in zoos play a critical conservation role while facing welfare challenges as solitary large predators in captivity.
Amur tiger welfare in zoos requires continuous enrichment programs that engage natural behavioral drives including hunting, scent marking, and territory exploration. These powerful, wide-ranging predators experience frustration in inadequate enclosures, leading to stereotypic pacing. The best zoo programs provide expansive, variable habitats with regular enrichment novelty. Conservation contributions through genetic banking and public education justify maintaining welfare-positive captive populations.