Diets offered to maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) in North American zoos: a review and analysis

Citation

Phipps A, Edwards M. 2009. Diets offered to maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) in North American zoos: a review and analysis. In Ward A, Treiber K, Schmidt D, Coslik A, Maslanka M, Eds. Proceedings of the Eighth Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition, AZA Nutrition Advisory Group, Tulsa, OK.

Abstract

The maned wolf, a canid native to South America, has had a history of cystinuria and poor fecal consistency in North American institutions. Factors contributing to this may be related to feeding the species a primarily carnivorous diet, despite its omnivorous dietary habits under free-ranging conditions. To address cystinuria and fecal consistency, a commercially manufactured diet was fed to all maned wolves in North America. However, after a few years of use, some wolves demonstrated clinical signs of taurine and/or copper deficiencies. This unanticipated result led to a change to use of institution specific diets across the SSP population. The purpose of this project was to quantify, analyze and compare diets currently offered to the SSP population of maned wolves. Diet items offered were classified into groups and their distribution between institutions compared. Nutrients delivered in offered diets were calculated for each institution. These results demonstrate each of the 26 SSP institutions were feeding maned wolves diets differing in ingredients, quantity and nutrient composition.

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