Influence of enclosure size on the distances covered and paced by captive tigers (Panthera tigris)

In the wild, tigers live in large individual territories ranging from 7 to 1000 km(2) depending on the region and prey abundance. However, in captivity, the animal's environment is strongly reduced, and the size of the enclosure provided varies between zoos. It has been shown that animals occupying large territories in the wild, like tigers, are more vulnerable to problems of stress in captivity. Movement in captive cats has not been the subject of extensive studies, and the aim of this one was to determine the impact of the size of the enclosure on the movement of 38 captive tigers. This study shows a positive correlation between the size of the enclosure and the total distance covered by the animals and also that males covered greater distances than females. Moreover, the analysis also revealed that pacing, a form of stereotypy, has the potential to develop from the time the animals are old enough to disperse, and that this abnormal behaviour was negatively correlated with the size of the enclosure. Finally, an index, calculated with distances covered and paced, was created and can become a good tool for zoos that want to quantify and reduce abnormal pacing performed by their animals. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.