Zoo felids including lions, tigers, leopards, and smaller cats require targeted enrichment to prevent stereotypic behavior and promote positive welfare. Understanding felid enrichment science guides effective programs.
Felid enrichment in zoo settings must address the gap between felid behavioral ecology and zoo constraints. Wild felids are active hunters who range over large territories, and zoo environments cannot replicate this dimensionality. Enrichment programs that recognize this gap aim to activate the neural systems associated with predatory motivation - the seeking system - through varied, unpredictable, and species-appropriate stimulation. The most effective felid enrichment engages the full predatory sequence: detect, stalk, rush, catch, kill, consume. Fragmented enrichment that activates only part of this sequence may be less satisfying than enrichment allowing the complete sequence. Regular rotation and novel presentation maintains the unpredictability that makes enrichment effective rather than habituated.