How to Keep Captive Tigers Wild: Enrichment and Welfare
The importance of common enrichment techniques in fostering happy and healthy captive tigers
What is enrichment and why is it important for the welfare of captive tigers?
It is now widely known that more tigers exist in captivity than they do in the wild (Nyhus et al. 2010). In order to preserve the welfare of these wild animals, the organizations and institutions that care for them must promote behavior similar to those tigers exhibit in nature. Most captive tigers cannot return to the wild, therefore it is important to reinforce these behaviors while they live out their lives in captivity. However, the conditions posed by captivity - including limited space and a pre-prepared diet - can oppose natural behaviors, such as surveying territory and hunting.
The constraints of captivity can lead tigers to engage in concerning, repetitive behaviors, also known as stereotypical behavior. One common example of this is pacing, where tigers will restlessly walk back and forth across their limited space. These behaviors indicate unhappy and unhealthy tigers.
There are a few methods used to combat stereotypical behavior, including pharmacological interventions, punishment, and enrichment. Enrichment is the preferred method as it addresses the underlying sources of stereotypical behavior and prevents unwanted side effects from other methods (Mason 2007).
Behaviors encouraged through enrichment
The Wildcat Sanctuary (Sandstone, MN): Tonka enjoys a present from Pandora
Enrichment can come in many forms:
- Providing tigers with novel toys and food items to promote hunting behavior
- Mimicking feeding styles observed in the wild
- Stimulating the scents a tiger might encounter when in an expansive territory through spices or enclosure rotation
- Giving tigers plenty of space with different types of terrain and environmental features to explore
Left: Tigers of America accredited sanctuary average tiger enclosure sizes (square feet). Information gathered from: The Wild Animal Sanctuary (CO), Big Cat Rescue (FL), Exotic Feline Rescue Center (IN), and Black Beauty Ranch (TX). Right: State legal minimum tiger enclosure size (square feet). There is no required minimum enclosure size in the state of Indiana. Notice the difference in size indicated by the y-axes! Tigers of America accredited sanctuaries recognize the importance of enclosure size to tigers' welfare and go above and beyond state requirements.
In the following map you will find sites around the country that have researched and implemented various forms of enrichment. Their observations demonstrate how these practices improve the behavior of captive tigers. You will also find stories chronicling how sanctuaries have implemented these techniques to rehabilitate tigers previously living in cruel and unfair conditions.
Novel Food Items as Enrichment
A male and female tiger housed in Zoo Atlanta (Georgia) were presented with live fish and bones to combat undesirable behaviors, such as pacing. Researchers reported that the percentage of scans in which these tigers were pacing halved from 60% to 30% after the provision of these novel items (Bashaw et al. 2003).
Novel Food Items and Scents as Enrichment
In the Montgomery Zoo (Alabama), three tigers were observed after being provided with bones, frozen fish, and spices, including cinnamon, cumin, and chili powder. These tigers increased their activity around 25% when presented with bones, 58% with frozen fish, and 22% with spices (Skibiel et al. 2007). Among all the big cat species studied, tigers were the most responsive to these treatments.
Meet Calvin
Calvin currently lives at the Wildcat Ridge Sanctuary in Scotts Mills, Oregon. Calvin and his brother Hobbes were born at Joe Exotics enclosures in 2013. They were taken from their mother and used for photos for the first 12 weeks of their lives. Once they grew too big to be photo cubs, they were sold to a roadside zoo called Serenity Springs Wildlife Center. There, they lived in small stone pens, with a cement bunker as a shelter. The USDA continually wrote up Serenity Springs for neglect and improper care, and in October of 2016, Serenity Springs sold all their animals to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. Turpentine Creek and Tigers in America worked together to find homes for all the animals in accredited sanctuaries across the United States.
Calvin arrived with Hobbes at Wildcat Ridge Sanctuary in November of 2016. Calvin is an outgoing tiger who loves to play with his enrichment toys and enjoys his new environment. As a result of a poor diet as a cub leading to Metabolic Disease, Calvin has a limp. However, he is on special supplements to help improve his condition and is doing much better!
Artificial Prey as Enrichment
The tiger enclosure at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoos and Garden in Hilo, HI used mobile artificial prey and speakers to mimic squirrels, rabbits, and birds to encourage the tigers to hunt, chase, and climb (Markowitz and LaForse 1986). This research provides anecdotal support of these techniques to encourage desired behaviors and decrease pacing.
Stimulus Objects as Enrichment
To promote hunting, four tigers in Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian National Zoological Park were provided with stimulus toys such as empty metal kegs and frozen blood balls. Additionally, tigers were given zebra dung and scented squash as a form of scent stimulation. These methods successfully encouraged more active behavior, such as climbing, grooming, marking, rubbing, and vocalizing. Furthermore, tigers spent less time asleep during sessions when enrichment objects were present (Van Metter et al. 2008).
Meet Marcus, Winona and Dash
Marcus, Winona and Dash are three tigers that currently reside at the Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone Minnesota. Before their transport to the sanctuary, these three tigers lived in a small cement and mud enclosure in an out of state facility. Cubs were commonly bred at this facility and were used for cub petting or sold on the internet. Luckily, the Wildcat Sanctuary was able to step in to help.
When the Wildcat Sanctuary arrived, they found that Winona had just given birth to another cub, Dash, who was so young he was still attached to the umbilical cord. In the wild, tigers have a litter approximately every two years. But in captivity, when breeders pull the cubs from their mother, their mother goes back into estrus, which means she can be bred several times a year. Winona and her mate Marcus were kept together, but Marcus had displayed some tendencies to attack cubs, therefore the sanctuary had to quickly sedate the cats and transport them one-by-one back down the road. Due to the piles of scrap metal, broken cars, and trash lining the road, the transport crates couldn’t be driven, so the tigers were sedated and taken in cars back down the road.
Once the three tigers were transported back to the Wildcat Sanctuary, Marcus was treated for broken canines with exposed roots, a bacterial infection, several wounds, and was neutered. Winona receives birth control so she can live safely with Marcus. Dash received around the clock care and was fed every few hours. He was the first newborn the sanctuary had cared for, but they embraced the commitment.
The habitats at Wildcat Sanctuary are especially created to fit the individual tigers that arrive and are expanded and supplemented if the tigers need more space or new enrichment activities. Winona and Marcus live happily together now, and Dash is hitting milestones daily. Soon Dash will be moved to a larger habitat for big cats. Eventually he will be introduced to other tigers of his own age so he can grow up with other tigers around him and learn how to socialize.
Exhibit Rotation as Enrichment
A Sumatran tiger living in Louisville Zoological Garden was rotated throughout several enclosures as a form of scent stimulation and to mimic scenery changes the tiger would experience in the wild. The rotated Sumatran tiger was found to rest significantly less and display naturally expected behaviors such as grooming and spraying significantly more over the course of the study (White et al. 2003).
Meet Kaiya
Kaiya currently lives at In-Sync Exotics , an exotic wildlife sanctuary in Wylie, Texas. Kaiya was born in November of 2002. She was purchased from an unknown breeding facility by an entertainment facility in Texas. From there, she was taken all over the country and used in exhibits. As she got bigger and more aggressive, the facility decided that she was no longer useful to them. That is when In-Sync stepped in and offered to take her.
Kaiya was rescued by In-Sync in April of 2004. She is blind in her left eye due to an unknown event from her youth, but that hasn't stopped her from embracing her time at In-Sync. She is very active and loves to play with her enrichment toys. Her favorite place to be is in the water, and she takes almost every toy, chicken treat or bone into the water with her. She is thriving at In-Sync, and is deeply appreciated for her energetic, never-tiring attitude.
Next Steps in Enrichment
Another form of enrichment in need of further research relates to tigers’ social lives. Captive tigers are usually enclosed with other tigers or in close proximity to other species. Furthermore, they spend a significant amount of time with their keepers and other humans. Although wild tigers are generally solitary, they are not necessarily antisocial. Exploring enrichment techniques that will foster these relationships is necessary for sanctuaries to continue to improve tigers’ well-being.
It is common to find tigers coexisting in the same enclosure when kept in captivity. Better understanding these dynamics will help sanctuaries promote the happiness of captive tigers. Left image source. Dawn Brook, general manager, caring for a tiger at the Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary in Caledonia, MS. The relationships formed between captive tigers and their keepers may influence the welfare of tigers, making this topic an important future direction for the development of enrichment practices.
Both academic research and anecdotal evidence continues to show that enrichment is vital for enhancing the mental and physical well-being of captive tigers. While enrichment does not have to be expensive, it can be particularly hard for non-profits to implement because these practices are time and resource intensive.
What can you do to help?
Organizations such as the zoos and sanctuaries above - as well as others supported by welfare and conservation groups such as Tigers in America - rely on donations from the public. Visit Tigers in America to find accredited sanctuaries to support!
Acknowledgements
Tigers in America, Wildcat Ridge Sanctuary (Scotts Mill, OR), In-Sync Exotics (Wylie, TX), Wildcat Sanctuary (Sandstone, MN), Zoo Atlanta (Atlanta, GA), Montgomery Zoo (Montgomery, AB), Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoos and Garden (Hilo, HI), Smithsonian National Zoological Park (Washington, D.C.), Louisville Zoo (Louisville, KY)
References
Bashaw, M.J., M.A. Bloomsmith, M.J. Marr, & T.L. Maple. To hunt or not to hunt? A feeding enrichment experiment with captive large felids. Zoo Biol., 22 (2003), pp. 189-198.
Markowitz, H. and S. LaForse. Artificial prey as behavioral enrichment devices for felines. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 18 (1987), pp. 31-43.
Mason, G., R. Clubb, N. Latham, & S. Vickery. Why and how should we use environmental enrichment to tackle stereotypic behaviour? Applied Animal Behaviour Science Volume 102, Issues 3–4, 2007, Pages 163-188. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159106001900
Skibiel, A.L., H.S. Trevino, & K. Naugher. Comparison of several types of enrichment for captive felids. Zoo Biol., 26 (2007), pp. 371-381.
Szokalski, M.S., C.A. Litchfield, & W.K. Foster. Enrichment for captive tigers (Panthera tigris): Current knowledge and future directions, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 139, Issues 1–2, 2012, Pages 1-9, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl e/pii/S016815911 2000718
Van Metter, J.E., M.D. Harriger, & R.H. Bolen. Environmental enrichment utilizing stimulus objects for African lions (Panthera leo leo) and Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae). Bioscience, 79 (2008), pp. 7-16.
White, B.C., L.A. Houser, J.A. Fuller, S. Taylor, & J.L.L. Elliot. Activity based exhibition of five mammalian species: evaluation of behavioral changes. Zoo Biol., 22 (2003), pp. 269-285.