Incorporating the science of nutrition into the management of captive animals.
Fish are a standard part of polar bear diets in zoos and aquaria. Though most fish are frozen and thawed for feeding, some institutions have access to fresh fish such as salmon and trout. Recently, animal managers have encouraged the feeding of live fish for enrichment purposes. In 1982 two polar bears living in a Pacific Northwest zoo were thought... 
Rickets and osteomalacia have been reported frequently in captive callitrichids. Some have assumed that these conditions are a consequence of unmet, unusually high requirements for vitamin D and that these high requirements are characteristic of all New World primates. As a consequence, certain commercial diets formulated for New World primates contain such high concentrations of vitamin D that their consumption... 
Taurine is not considered an essential amino acid in most mammals as it can be synthesized from cysteine. Cats are an exception, lacking an enzyme necessary for this conversion and a lack of dietary taurine has been linked to central retinal degeneration and dilated cardiomyopathy. This form of feline cardiomyopathy is reversible with a dietary taurine supplement. More recently, a... 
Callitrichids have long been kept in zoological exhibits and in laboratory colonies. They are considered to be difficult to maintain and breed in captivity. Most of the species are considered to be endangered, threatened or vulnerable. Some causes of morbidity and mortality include inappropriate housing and diet, disease and trauma related to social stress, wasting marmoset syndrome, infectious diseases and... 
Nutrition is an important modulator of immune function and can often tip the balance between health and disease. In order to maintain fish in aquaria, sound nutrition and adequate feeding are essential to fish health as clinical disease often ensues when nutritional needs are not met. Diets that are adequate with respect to essential nutrients can hasten recovery from infection,... 
Like other members of the family Sturnidae, Bali mynahs are omnivorous. Preferred food items in the wild include seasonally available fruits of native trees and shrubs, a variety of insects and even small reptiles. Historically, they have been maintained in captivity on a multitude of diets, most being a mix of chopped or diced fruit and high-protein items such as... 
Grinding fish in a blender is very complex because the fish often need to be processed to some degree and there are many choices of blenders. Suggested blenders to use include Waring blenders of various sizes, homogenizers, or smaller, but more affordable, Magic BulletÒ or NutriBulletÒ. Using a meat grinder, chopping, filleting, skinning, and successive blending are all methods of... 
We measured proximate composition (moisture, lipid, protein, ash), vitamin A and vitamin E content, and six minerals (Cu, Fe, Zn, Mg, Mn, Ca) in quail, rats, mice and guinea pigs raised on at least two different diets per species. The objectives of this work were 1) to assess the variability of nutrient composition in some commonly used, commercially available diets,... 
This workshop presented a toolbox of techniques that nutritionists, veterinarians, and animal staff can use to assess and quantify the nutritional health and welfare of their animals. As part of the new AZA standard 1.5, accredited institutions must follow a written process for assessing animal welfare. Nutrition is considered one of the “5 freedoms” (freedom from hunger and thirst), the... This workshop was held at the 2019 NAG/AAZV conference and was hosted by Heidi Bissell, Katie Sullivan, Erin Kendrick, and Mike Maslanka.
The files from the workshop are available here:
Some of the above files are available as editable MS Word documents:
Over the past decade there have been a number of studies on wild gorilla (Gorilla spp.) nutrition and we now have a more comprehensive database on the nutritional composition of wild gorilla foods including macronutrients, fatty acids, amino acids and minerals. I will review these findings and discuss a new approach to examining the diets and feeding patterns of gorillas... 
The use of an alginate-calcium complex to formulate a durable submersible diet was evaluated in a feeding trial with growing ducklings. Growth, feed intake (FI), gain:feed ratio (GF), dry matter digestibility, metabolizable energy (ME), nitrogen-corrected ME and excreta moisture did not differ between birds fed a commercial 22% crude protein duck starter diet and those fed the same diet incorporating... 
According to Hoffman, ruminants can be classified as browsers (“concentrate selectors”), intermediate feeders, and grazers. Compared to grazers, browsers have different nutritional requirements to meet their specific digestive physiology needs. In general, browse may contain higher amounts of secondary plant compounds and lower fiber concentrations than many grasses. In Rotterdam Zoo, browse often consists of willow leaves and branches. However,... 
High incidence of white muscle disease in captive nyala has lead to speculation that they have high vitamin E requirements. Maintenance of nyala is often achieved through high vitamin E supplementation. Injectable vitamin E has been administered monthly (750 IU/injection) at Denver Zoological Gardens for years as an effective method of preventing vitamin E deficiency related deaths, yet, was evaluated... 
Outfitting your nutrition operation can feel a bit like building an arsenal with which you can draw from to fight the good fight that is feeding your animals. However, what you put in your arsenal will depend entirely on your goals as a department and the space and capacity you have available. Wherever your operation lands on the centralized/decentralized commissary... 
Although the nutritional requirements of the domestic cat are well known and various investigations have been conducted with larger exotic felids no published information on digestion in snow leopards, Uncia uncia, is available. Two three-day intake and digestion trials were conducted on 4.6 adult (ages 3-15 years) captive-born snow leopards at the Bronx Zoo, Bronx, NY in December, 1996. Routine... 
A preliminary survey of Wasting Marmoset Syndrome was conducted in order to ascertain the significance of this disease constellation in callitrichid collections during the period from 1989 through 1993. Questionnaires prepared by the Philadelphia Zoo Animal and Animal Health Departments and approved by the AZA New World Primate Taxon Advisory Group were mailed to 275 animal managers and veterinarians at... 
The term “metabolic bone disease” encompasses a variety of bone-related diseases, including rickets, osteomalacia, osteopenia, and osteoporosis, all of which are associated with a weakening of bone structure. Metabolic bone disease is considered a serious health problem among certain species of captive reptiles. The occurrence of metabolic bone disease is believed to be due to insufficient concentrations of circulating vitamin...
The Santa Barbara Zoo has a long history of community involvement and paving the way for environmentally friendly practices in the Santa Barbara area. The Zoo initiated the first community recycling program more than 20 years ago. In 2007 The Zoo created an in house peer-committee “Sustainable Operations Committee (Green Team)” to review and establish responsible environmentally responsible practices. The... 
Intestinal disorders associated with enteroliths in domestic and wild equids have perpetuated folklore feeding practices in the western U.S. Enteroliths are stones formed in the large intestine, consisting primarily of magnesium ammonium phosphate [Mg(NH4)(PO4) – 6H20]. The frequency of enteroliths reported in clinical cases and necropsy reports among captive equids at the Zoological Society of San Diego appears to be... 
In order to improve the quality of life for captive elephants maintained in Brazilian zoos, the Brazilian Society of Zoos and Aquariums (SZB) organized a workshop concerning management of elephants in zoos in November 2014. Evaluation of nutritional husbandry was identified as a priority. Thus, diets were assessed from information obtained for 4 African (Loxodonta africana) and 12 Asian (Elephas...
It is becoming apparent to the zoo community that a quality nutrition program is a key to improved animal health, and potentially added contentment of the animal. Improved nutrition can also lead to enhanced breeding programs. However, even realizing this, many zoological institutions can not yet justify the cost of a full-time nutritionist. Therefore, a question often asked is, “How...
Vitamin E is an important antioxidant, and deficiency is known to impact the reproduction, growth, and immunity in many species. Dietary browse can be an important source of vitamin E for animals housed in zoological institutions; however the contribution of these items to total dietary vitamin E likely varies by browse species and across time. Our objective was to evaluate... 
This is just the nutrition chapter.
Food Safety and Sanitation is a big aspect of our daily operation and by providing a safe and clean environment you can maintain quality food for the entire collection. The purpose is to help others understand that by doing everything possible to reduce and, or eliminate the threat of food-borne illnesses, that you can keep your food, equipment and staff... 
Duane E. Ullrey, a Michigan native and retired animal science professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing, died early Saturday, January 25, 2014, after a brief illness. He was 85. He was born on May 27, 1928, Niles Michigan, the first of three children of Ebon and Jennie (Knott) Ullrey. He attended a one-room school house, the Pucker Street School, and graduated from Niles High School in 1946. In addition to his daily chores, Duane loved collecting minerals and bird watching. However, it was the flock of homing pigeons that kept his interest, becoming an important part of his therapy after he was suddenly struck with polio at the age of 12.
After graduating from Michigan State University in 1950 with a degree in animal husbandry, Ullrey went on to earn a master’s degree in animal pathology in 1951. He continued his graduate work in animal nutrition at the University of Illinois and earned his Ph.D. in 1954. Upon graduation he went to Oklahoma A&M University in Stillwater where he taught in the Department Physiology and Pharmacology. In 1954 Ullrey was hired as an assistant professor of animal nutrition at Michigan State University, becoming a full professor in 1968. He had a joint appointment in the Departments of Animal Science and Fisheries and Wildlife. He taught and conducted research in the nutrition of swine and white-tailed deer, ultimately developing a program in Comparative Animal Nutrition. Ullrey became a specialist in the trace mineral nutrition of animals and wrote book chapters, textbooks and hundreds of journal articles during his long career. He became a national and international expert on the trace element selenium and was sought after to serve on many academic and government committees. Ullrey was the recipient of numerous professional awards. He relished his role as a mentor, having supervised 34 graduate students and served on the graduate committees of over 140 students during his tenure at MSU.
He is an emeritus member of AAZV. He has been involved specifically in zoological animal nutrition for most of his professional life. Dr. Ullrey has had an immense impact on our profession, so much so, we have named an award after him, The Duane Ullrey award, of which he was the first recipient in 1999.
Funeral Services will be held at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Home 1730 East Grand River East Lansing, Michigan. Saturday, February 1, 2014 at 11:00 am with visitation with the family an hour prior.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Dr. Duane E. Ullrey Endowment for Graduate Education in Animal Science, at Michigan State University.
Barbara
Barbara Henry, M.S.
Curator of Nutrition
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Purchasing contracts are an integral part of a Nutrition program’s procurement arsenal. Versatile and adaptive, they are one way to secure a consistent source and pricing of a product. However they can also be limiting and result in delivery of an inferior, albeit more economical, product. We will examine the advantages and disadvantages of contract purchasing and development of specification... 
Pathology in captive giraffe is relatively common and has often been attributed to nutritional causes. It was hypothesized that reducing dietary starch and phosphorus (P) would change serum mineral concentrations to be more in line with typical mammalian values. Captive giraffe (n=6, Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha NE), previously fed a commercially available diet, were transitioned to a reduced starch diet...
Energy is a fundamental need of all living things. In the wild, satisfying energy requirements may be the most important aspect of foraging ecology and feeding decisions. In captivity, satisfying an animal’s energy requirement is usually not difficult. The concern is more over balancing energy intake with that of other necessary nutrients. The energy density of manufactured foods is normally...
A model was developed based on food disappearance to determine the quantity of food and estimate the metabolizable energy (ME) requirements for the growth of parent reared Saddle-bill storks (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis). Based on the initial observations in 2001, a feeding protocol was developed and utilized for parent-reared storks in 2002. Food disappearing from the food dish offered to two (1.1)... 
Providing an appropriate diet to the wide array of animal taxa in zoos remains challenging, despite the tremendous expansion in the science of zoo nutrition and diet management in the past 20 years. Significant advances have been possible because of a number of interested scientists.