Bears in zoos require large, complex enclosures with water features, foraging enrichment, and substrate for digging to prevent the stereotypic pacing that afflicts most poorly housed bears.
Bear welfare in zoos spans a wide quality range depending on exhibit design and management. The most important welfare determinant is environmental complexity: bears provided with large naturalistic enclosures featuring water for swimming, varied terrain for movement, substrates for digging, and diverse foraging enrichment show behavioral profiles that closely approximate wild bears. Bears in barren concrete enclosures develop stereotypic pacing that is essentially impossible to eliminate once established. Seasonal management for species that undergo torpor requires careful nutritional preparation and appropriate denning substrate. Foraging enrichment is especially important for bears because of their highly developed olfaction and motivated foraging behavior — scatter feeding, buried food, honey in logs, and varied food presentation can occupy bears for hours and provide genuine welfare benefit. Several sanctuaries including the BEAR Sanctuary network have demonstrated what high-quality bear welfare looks like at scale.