Whole versus chopped food: the bintu-right way to do it?
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
2024 |
Authors: |
Alexander J. Vine, Amy Hammond, Georgia Abernethy Palmer, James Edward Brereton |
Publication/Journal: |
Discover Animals |
Keywords: |
arctictis binturong, carnivora, chopped food, food particle size, wildlife park, zoo |
ISBN: |
3004-894X |
Abstract:
It remains common practice for zoos to chop animal diets into small pieces, even though there is limited evidence to support this practice. It is important that the purported benefits of chopping food are investigated, to determine whether there are any benefits for animal welfare. This study investigates the impact of food presentation on the behavior of the binturong (Arctictis binturong), a large Asian viverrid, at Beale Wildlife Park in the United Kingdom. For this study, food was provided in three sizes: very finely chopped, chopped, and in whole pieces, and the behavior and food preference of binturongs was investigated alongside the time taken for keepers to prepare diets. There were relatively few behavioral differences when binturongs were provided with the three food sizes. Only a few behaviors, namely feeding, food manipulation and locomotion with food were significantly more frequent when food was whole, whilst vocalizations were significantly less frequent in this condition. When food items are large, the binturongs appeared to take a large item and move elsewhere to eat, thus moving away from one another, which therefore reduces opportunities for aggression or stealing. This suggests that large food items may have benefits in terms of reduced food monopolisation, especially for binturongs housed in pairs or groups. Keepers saved almost five minutes when preparing whole food diets as opposed to the very chopped size. Given the potential benefits, plus the keeper time saved, whole diets are a viable option for feeding binturongs.