Polar Bears at the Zoo

Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash

In the early ’90s zookeepers were becoming increasingly aware that their Polar Bears were suffering psychologically. Despite the fact that the bears had pools in which to swim, rocks to bask on or climb, and regular nutritious meals, the bears spent a lot of time in repetitive and seemingly obsessive behaviors, swimming endless figure eights, pacing in precise patterns, or obsessively grooming themselves to the point of baldness.