The FEED the Zoo program: a community-based approach to browse sourcing and sustainability
Citation
Gainer PL, Henry BA, Luckett EE, and Wenninger MR. 2025. The FEED the Zoo program: a community-based approach to browse sourcing and sustainability. In Treiber K, Brooks M, D’amato-Anderson J, Nylander J, Eds. Proceedings of the Sixteenth Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition, AZA Nutrition Advisory Group, Oklahoma City, OK.
Abstract
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (CZBG) has developed a comprehensive and multifaceted Browse Program to support the mental and physical well-being of its diverse animal collection. Table 1 provides CZBG’s browse list. Many species, including red pandas, colobus monkeys, sifakas, howler monkeys, and some invertebrates, require browse as a critical dietary component, while others such as elephants, bongo, okapi, rhino, and giraffe also benefit from having browse incorporated into their diets. Overseen by a certified nursery technician with over 20 years of experience, the program ensures safe and species-appropriate browse through rigorous sourcing, plant identification, and monitoring of animal preferences. A centralized database tracks weekly distribution and consumption trends, facilitating high-quality dietary planning.
The Zoo’s FEED the Zoo Vendor Program (Fresh, Environmental, Enrichment Diet) supplies approximately 63% of the 287,000+ pounds of annual browse through partnerships with local arborists, municipalities, orchards, and other green industry vendors, with anticipated year-over-year growth of at least 25%. The remaining 37% is harvested from over 10,000 browse trees cultivated on Zoo-owned farms, with 2,000–3,000 additional trees planted annually. Browse is harvested daily during the growing season, with surplus stored frozen for winter use. Supplementary sources include bamboo collection and eucalyptus imports from Koala Farms, a commercial browse farm, ensuring year-round availability.
In collaboration with the Horticulture, Animal Health, and Nutrition teams, the program also supports toxic plant monitoring in habitats strategic species selection, and continual updates to a digital browse database accessible to Zoo staff. A recent overhaul of the approved browse list expanded plant species and refined classifications by animal taxa, enhancing precision in dietary planning. This collaborative, data-driven, and sustainability-focused approach ensures that the CZBG’s browse program remains a national model for excellence in zoological nutrition and enrichment.
HenryBrowseZN2025S6.pdf 195 KB
