Research overview: behavioural rehabilitation of rescued big cats in sanctuaries

Big cats arriving at sanctuaries from circuses, roadside zoos, private ownership or the pet trade often carry physical and psychological scars, including declawing, malnutrition, obesity, dental disease and entrenched stereotypies. This overview surveys the husbandry and behavioural approaches sanctuaries use to rehabilitate such animals: gradual introduction to larger, complex naturalistic enclosures, species-appropriate diets to correct nutritional damage, enrichment to rebuild behavioural repertoires, careful socialisation, and management of chronic stereotypies that may never fully resolve. It discusses the welfare gains achievable even for animals with poor histories, the limits set by early deprivation, and how outcomes are monitored. The synthesis frames sanctuary rehabilitation as applied welfare science working to repair the effects of prior mistreatment.