Meeting the complex social and territorial needs of African lions in zoo environments.
African lion welfare in captivity requires social management that allows expression of pride dynamics within the constraints of zoo settings. Single-housed lions, particularly males, show chronic stress that manifests as pacing, overgrooming, and aggression toward keepers. Well-designed lion facilities provide stable mixed-sex social groups, large naturalistic enclosures with visual barriers that allow social choice, and enrichment that engages predatory behavior. Conservation programs must honestly assess their contribution to wild lion recovery, which depends primarily on field conservation rather than captive breeding.