The welfare needs of bears in captivity, including their solitary nature, foraging requirements, and the enrichment strategies that best address their behavioral needs.
Bear welfare in captivity is heavily dependent on the quality and complexity of the environment. Bears whose wild lives are dominated by the search for food across large territories require an exhibit environment that provides meaningful foraging challenge and physical complexity. The shift from barren enclosures to naturalistic exhibits with digging substrate, water features, climbing structures, and extensive scatter feeding has dramatically improved captive bear welfare in accredited facilities. The persistent welfare challenge is preventing the development of stereotypies in new animals through early enrichment from first introduction, and managing the boredom risk in exhibits that, however naturalistic, remain far smaller than wild home ranges.