Evidence-based enrichment programmes that support tiger welfare in zoological institutions.
Tiger enrichment must go beyond providing occasional novel objects — it requires a systematic approach that continuously engages the predatory, territorial, and exploratory drives that define tiger natural behavior. Olfactory enrichment is particularly powerful because tigers rely heavily on scent for territory marking and prey detection. Rotating enrichment ensures novelty, while ensuring key motivational systems — predatory sequence, territorial marking, exploration — are engaged regularly rather than sporadically. Facilities that treat enrichment as a core programme rather than an occasional activity show measurable welfare improvements in stereotypic behavior reduction.