Nutrition as an integral part of behavioural management of zoo animals

Abstract

Provision of optimal diets for wild animals in captivity can have beneficial effects on health, reproductive performance and welfare. Zoo animal nutrition has made significant advances over the past decades; however adequate diet provision in zoological institutions remains challenging. This paper proposes a schematic history of developments in zoo animal nutrition in four steps, from finding diet items an animal will readily accept to secure its immediate survival (step 1), to supplementing these diet items with essential nutrients like minerals and vitamins (step 2), replacing convenient diet items from step 1 with items that are nutritionally and structurally more adequate for the species (the culturally challenging step 3) and providing the step 3 diet in species-appropriate ways to achieve behavioural management goals (step 4). Within this model, general rules of feeding behaviour are considered, emphasising the importance of promoting natural behaviours through adequate feeding management rather than simply preventing nutritional imbalances. By providing several short case studies, knowledge of feeding behaviour and activity budgets of several mammalian species is used as a guideline for adequate feeding management. Since the developments in feeding regimes described often cannot be made in synchrony across species or across zoos, it remains challenging for zoos to progress towards the final step. Therefore, this paper aims to inspire zoos by providing suggestions for moving towards integral feeding regimes for animals in their care and to assess where they stand in the four-step process with respect to certain animal groups. In conclusion, active application of knowledge of both dietary requirements and natural feeding ecology are essential for improving dietary feeding management in zoos and hence animal welfare.