Polar bears in zoos face challenges of thermal management, space, and behavioural expression. Their welfare needs are among the most difficult to meet in captive settings.
Polar bear welfare in temperate zoos is severely compromised by the fundamental mismatch between the Arctic environment and zoo conditions. Pacing stereotypies, observed in most captive polar bears, represent neurological damage from early environmental impoverishment. Cooling and enrichment partially address physical needs but cannot replicate the hunting, spatial, and social complexity of Arctic habitat.