Abnormal behaviors in captive wildlife: to keep or not to keep?

Wildlife in captivity serves several purposes, including research, conservation, agriculture, and tourism. Many zoos and wildlife parks are driven towards conservation roles as they help prevent endangered wildlife from becoming extinct. However, a captive environment is often not the best manifestation of the animal's natural habitat, thus hindering them from performing natural behavior as they would in the wild. This imposes stress on the captive animals, leading to the display of abnormal behaviors, such as stereotypic behaviors, which are repetitive, invariant, and functionless behaviors. Stereotypic behaviors have been observed in many captive animals, such as pacing in tigers and bears, swaying and bobbing in elephants, over-grooming, self mutilation, coprophilia, and coprophagia among captive primates, as well as fur and/or feather plucking in primates and birds. This article explores the abnormal behaviors of captive animals in response to their environment and highlights the critical importance of enrichment and naturalistic habitat design. Creating environments encouraging species-specific behaviors can significantly improve animal welfare, enhance conservation outcomes, and educate the public about wildlife conservation. Improved welfare practices not only support animal well-being but also strengthen public engagement and advocacy for conservation initiatives, ultimately aiding in protecting endangered species.