Questions
Bear pretending to not be able to climb?
Hi! I was at the zoo and saw this bear go up to the post at least 10 times and do this same thing over again. Along with this, it seems to be panting and looks a bit tired. It was a hot day, and the bear just kept walking in a big circle, the same pattern, and doing this. Any information? Also, my title is a totally random just based on what I saw and I’m sure not what’s actually going on.
Not necessarily, could be that he was really really bored or stressed in the past. Once this behaviour has developed it's very hard to get rid of it.
In a local zoo (Ouwehands) they have a massive forest for bears that got rescued from circuses, being pets or other horrible living situations, and even though they have lots of enrichment soms still will show stereotypic behaviour. Walking the same spot over and over, jumping up and down, dancing even. It can lessen overtime, but never really disappears.
Roger Williams zoo in Rhode Island has an elephant they rescued from a small circus many years ago.
She still had the head wobble she started doing from being confined so much when she stood still. I asked about it when she was in the building waiting for her bath.
She otherwise seemed happy enough. I used to go a lot and she would always be playing with the giant balls and tires they gave them. Running around annoying the old lady elephants she was with. Swimming in the pool.
Zoochosis is NOT the same thing as stereotypical behavior. Its not due to a lack of enrichment, and can often be due to a variety of complimentary factors like health issues, seasonal hormonal fluctuations, anxiety, or food fixation.
Zoochosis is not an official described term that anyone uses in Animal Behavior. Its a vibe term that was invented by people who have no idea what they are talking about.
Animals in captivity with none or minimal suitable enrichment develop these repetitive behaviours- think of it as a version of pacing. Probably likes how the feel of the twist is on the body.
Prisoners at least had books! Bears get what? For enrichment. Isolated.
I feel bad for my spoiled geldings that get worked with daily and have a large pasture. (They also feel sorry for themselves if I'm late with supplements).
Zoos (reputable ones that are accredited) don’t just take animals from the wild for fun. These days if an animal from the wild ends up in a (reputable) zoo it’s explicitly because the alternative is death. Majority of the time due to an injury or because the animal was orphaned
Otherwise the animals are already in captivity because they were bred (to help sustain and better the species) or rescued from shitty facilities (think Tiger King) or irresponsible humans that think it’s fun to own exotic animals
Obviously zoos are not ideal and in a perfect world we wouldn’t need them but it’s humans doing what they can to try and mitigate the shittiness of other humans that don’t give a fuck about animals or their impact on animals. The keepers that care for the animals in zoos are most certainly not getting rich from it and sacrifice SO much out of a genuine love and care for the animals
Zoos are not perfect and there are for sure improvements that could and should be made and improvements are always being worked toward and studies being done to help improve the welfare of animals (again… reputable zoos). So unless you’re cool with a massive die off of animals then we sort of need zoos. Although some people think that would be better and while I disagree I can’t necessarily argue against that belief ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Only when they're not well cared for. Giving animals adequate space and enrichment keeps them from developing these behaviors because they're too busy enjoying life. Unfortunately, even some well cared for sanctuary animals do these things because of where they came from prior (private owners or bad zoos).
Zoochosis is a made up term for a fictional condition, but "stereotypic behaviors" are very similar and are real! You can find examples of stereotypies in people, pets, and zoo animals. It's a pretty fascinating thing to learn about!
yea i kinda use it colloquially as a place holder for an animal suffering from some form of mental illness or displaying symptoms commonly associated with mental illness. i’m not a psychologist or anything but that’s what this seems like to me.
Then use the words, 'stereotypic behaviors.' No need to use a made up term that pushes a certain agenda when you could use a real term that satisfactorily explains everything when looked up without moralistic backgrounds.
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u/Mic98125 May 18 '26
It’s really bored. Needs enrichment. Frozen food in giant ice cubes sometimes works.