The endangered Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) is currently distributed as a single wild population of 670 individuals and ∼400 captive animals globally. Although the captive lions are major hope for the species’ long-term conservation through repatriation, their welfare status and management practises need research attention. To this end, we tested the efficacy of feeding, sensory and manipulable enrichment interventions on the welfare of Asiatic lions at the conservation breeding centre of Sakkarbaug Zoological Garden, Gujarat. We adopted a holistic approach by measuring physiological and behavioural responses of 35 captive Asiatic lions, divided into control (N = 16) and test (N = 19) groups. The test subjects approached feeding devices first and used manipulable devices for longer duration. Manipulable devices were used homogenously with two significant time peaks, but sensory devices were used sporadically throughout the day with no discernible peak usage. The control subjects remained unchanged in all welfare parameters compared to their pre-treatment levels. However, post-enrichment behavioural assessments showed higher behaviour diversity (95 % increase from the baseline period), reduced enclosure zone bias (40.25 % reduction) and aberrant repetitive behaviours (80.68 %) in test samples. Similarly, faecal corticosterone measures showed lower stress levels in test samples (58 % decrease), confirming significant improvement in all welfare indices than control groups. These results have universal applicability to assess welfare indices of other captive species in Indian zoos. We hope that the results will encourage zoo managers and regulatory agencies to improve animal welfare practices.

濒临灭绝的亚洲狮子（豹利奥波斯）目前以670个人的野生种群和全球约400只圈养动物的形式分布。尽管圈养狮子是通过遣返长期保护该物种的主要希望，但它们的福利状况和管理做法仍需要研究关注。为此，我们在古吉拉特邦Sakkarbaug动物园的保护繁殖中心测试了喂养，感官和可操纵的富集干预措施对亚洲狮的福利的功效。我们通过测量35只圈养亚洲狮的生理和行为反应，采用整体方法，分为对照组（N = 16）和测试组（N = 19）。测试对象首先接触了喂食设备，并使用了可操纵的设备更长的时间。可操作的设备被均匀使用，并具有两个明显的时间峰值，但一天中会偶尔使用感觉设备，没有明显的高峰使用情况。与他们的治疗前水平相比，对照组的所有福利参数均保持不变。但是，富集后的行为评估显示，测试样品的行为多样性更高（比基线时期增加95％），封闭区域偏倚减少（减少40.25％）和异常重复行为（80.68％）。同样，粪便皮质类固醇激素的测定显示测试样品中的应激水平较低（下降58％），证实所有福利指标均比对照组显着改善。这些结果具有普遍适用性，可以评估印度动物园其他圈养物种的福利指数。我们希望结果能够鼓励动物园管理者和监管机构改善动物福利习惯。