Feeding ExoticsMay 1, 2013

What we can do today

• Can easily formulate specialized diets for livestock and pets

• Know very precise nutrients in common feedstuffs

• Con formulate to specific stages using wide range of ingredients

• Physiological stage• Level of production• Age• Clinical diagnosis• Size, breed• Level of activity

Nutrition in Zoo’s– Traditionally filled by:

• Veterinarians• Zoo Keepers• Curatorial Staff

– Limited nutrition programs with PhD heads• Only 8 of more than 230 AZA institutions (less than 5%)

– Omaha

– St. Louis

– Indianapolis

– San Diego (2)

– Lincoln Park

– Brookfield

– Disney’s Animal Kingdom

– Busch Gardens

Goals of Feeds and Feeding Exotics

• Promote health and longevity

• Support production – breeding programs for many species

• Provide environmental enrichment & aid in animal training

• Least cost

Ecology tells us what they eat.

Nutrition needs to tell us what’s in “what they eat”.

One of the biggest challenges of formulating for exotics is not knowing the nutrients in “wild” feed stuffs

Challenges of Feeding Exotics

• Limited data on nutrients of “wild ingredients” • Limited data regarding actual requirements for given

species– Must use extrapolations

• Management constraints– Group housing, mixed species exhibits, feeding times,

exhibit design• Limited ingredients

– Available ingredients will not match ingredients the animals actually consume in the wild

Process of Diet Formulation

• What is it? • What is its anatomy and physiology like?

– How do you classify an animal?

• What is the “Natural History”? – Feeding strategies– Feeding behaviors– What does it eat in the wild

• Do we know the nutrients in those feedstuffs?

• Is there a model species I can use to compare requirements?

Classifying Animals – How to figure out the best model

• By feeding strategy

• By digestive tract physiology– Autoenzymatic

• Digestive processes carried out by enzymes that the animal secretes into the digestive tract

– Alloenzymatic• Digestive processes are accomplished

primarily through enzymes secreted by organisms in the gut

Classification By Feeding Strategy

Classification By Feeding Strategy

Digestive Tract Physiology

Feeding Strategy Examples

Alloenzymatic digesters

Foregut fermenters

Ruminants

Grazers Cattle, bison, oryx, gaur

Browsers Giraffe, okapi, deer, moose

Mixed Sheep, goats

Non – ruminants

Omnivores Peccary

Herbivores Hyrax, hippo, kangaroo, wallaby

Hindgut fermenters

Cecal Rabbit, ostrich

Ceco- Colonic Horse, zebra, elephant, rhino, tapir

Anatomy and Physiology

• What does the GIT look like?

Foregut fermenters – Determining the “best model”

Extrapolations – Sometimes it makes perfect sense

Other times it doesn’t!

African hunting dog: Strict carnivore

Maned wolf: May consume up to 70%

vegetation (fruit)

Bat-eared fox: Insects

Ruminant Extrapolations

Hind gut fermenters - Extrapolations

Comparing A/PRelative Capacity

(% of total GIT weight)

Compartment Elephant Rhino Horse

Stomach 14.0 21.4 8.0

Small Intestine 6.7 5.2 30.0

Cecum 18.1 23.1 15.0

Colon 61.2 50.3 47.0

Total ceco-colonic fermentation (%)

> 75% 73% 62%

Clemons and Maloiy, 1982

Considerations• Heat and cold stress• Nutrients in feedstuffs• Minerals in feedstuffs – Mineral Interactions• Vitamins in feedstuffs

– Or losses as with fish• Feeds to support appearance

– Carotenoids and feather pigmentation• Food for training and enrichment• Clinical diet management• Exhibit design• Exhibit mates – mixed species

Environmental Enrichment & Training

Benefits of Food Enrichment• Variety• Provide nutrition• Promote natural foraging behaviors• Stimulate senses• Animal Welfare• Public perception

Animal Training

• High value food items • Often contribute a significant amount of

calories, and nutrients• Can be expensive• Extremely important for animal

management