Brown bears in captivity require extensive behavioral enrichment to express natural foraging, exploring and denning behaviors. Without enrichment, stereotypies and psychological suffering are common.
Brown bears are among the most cognitively complex carnivores and suffer profoundly in barren or small enclosures. Stereotypic behaviors once thought irreversible have been reduced with comprehensive enrichment programs. Best practice requires bears to spend the majority of their time engaged in naturalistic foraging and exploration behaviors rather than pacing.