Providing adequate space and enrichment for large carnivores in zoos is a significant welfare challenge, with research informing improving standards.
Large zoo carnivores face fundamental welfare challenges rooted in the incompatibility between wild behavioral needs and zoo environments. Polar bears that range hundreds of miles on Arctic sea ice cannot find equivalent outlet in any zoo enclosure. Tigers with territories of 20-100 square kilometers pace endlessly in enclosures that provide no equivalent stimulation. Stereotypies - which develop when environmental complexity is insufficient for normal behavioral expression - are a visible indicator of welfare failure that zoo visitors can observe. Modern zoo welfare approaches focus on behavioral management: varied feeding schedules, sensory enrichment, social housing where species permit, and enclosure designs that create cognitive challenges. Progress is real but the fundamental challenge of keeping wide-ranging carnivores in captivity remains.