Mountain lions (pumas) are wide-ranging solitary predators whose welfare in zoo settings requires large exhibits, enriched environments, and careful behavioral management.
Mountain lion welfare in zoo settings faces the fundamental challenge of providing for a predator with exceptionally large territory requirements in captivity. Enrichment programs must engage their active hunting motivation through prey-simulation feeding, scent enrichment with territorial marking opportunities, and complex terrain allowing full athletic expression. As solitary animals, individual housing with carefully managed breeding introductions is appropriate. Adults that were inappropriately hand-raised for exhibition often have compromised welfare as adults — they are habituated to humans but lack appropriate conspecific social skills. Their cryptic, secretive nature makes behavioral welfare assessment challenging compared to more social species.