Captivity effects on wide-ranging carnivores

Clubb and Mason analysed comparative data across 35 carnivore species to ask why some thrive in zoos while others pace and breed poorly. They found that wide-ranging species with large natural home ranges and long daily travel distances show the most stereotypic pacing and the highest captive infant mortality. Polar bears and other roamers fared worst; the lion, with a relatively small range, fared comparatively well. The result reframed pacing not as boredom alone but as a thwarted ranging motivation, implying that enclosure size and design must address species-typical movement. It became a landmark argument for either not keeping the widest-ranging carnivores or radically rethinking their husbandry, and it shaped welfare debates for tigers, cheetahs and other felids.