Supporting Geriatric Zoo Animal Welfare Through Nutrition
Aging wild animals undergo many physiological changes that are not visible to their keepers. Changes in their digestive system render them less efficient at absorbing nutrients, changes in their brain reduce mental acuity and inflammation builds up throughout the body, especially the joints. Eventually symptoms will be observed such as muscle loss, decreased activity and […]
Carnivorous mammals: nutrient digestibility and energy evaluation
Abstract Estimating the energy content is the first step in diet formulation, as it determines the amount of food eaten and hence the concentration of nutrients required to meet the animal’s requirements. Additionally, being able to estimate the energy content of a diet empirically known to maintain body condition in an animal will facilitate an […]
Comparative digestion studies in wild suids at Rotterdam Zoo
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20191.abs Among the artiodactyla, the suids are a group whose digestive physiology has hardly been investigated. The apparent digestibilities (aD) of macronutrients were measured in captive specimens of warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), red river hog (Potamochoerus porcus), and Visayan warty pigs (Sus cebifrons), and compared with those reported for babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa) from the same […]
When to feed on gums: Temporal patterns of gummivory in wild tamarins, Saguinus mystax and Saguinus fuscicollis (Callitrichinae)
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1999)18:63.3.CO;2-M This study examines the temporal patterning of gum feeding in two species of sympatric tamarin monkeys, Saguinus mystax and Saguinus fuscicollis, during the diurnal activity period. The number and duration of visits to gum sources and number of gum feeding records are used as parameters to analyze the gum feeding itinerary. Both visits […]
The use of dosed and herbage n-alkanes as markers for the determination of digestive strategies of captive giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis)
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1998)17:43.3.CO;2-0 Selected aspects of digestion in captive giraffes were investigated in two trials with a type of marker that is new for digestive studies in non-domestic species. N-Alkanes were used as internal and external markers. In Trial 1, diet composition, intake, and digestibility were directly measured and estimated with the marker. Six giraffes were […]
Allometry and ecology of feeding behavior and digestive capacity in herbivores: A review
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1996)15:53.3.CO;2-6 The purpose of this review is to give some perspective of the factors that influence feeding behaviors and the ability of herbivores to adapt to diets. The most important of these are digestibility, ability to select feed, and achievement of a nutritionally adequate intake. Plant morphology, observed feeding behavior, body size, and gut […]
Guest editorial: Ruminant physiology; digestion, metabolism and effects of nutrition on reproduction and welfare
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