Incorporating the science of nutrition into the management of captive animals.
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:
Imagine what you can do at Land O’Lakes. Our growth relies on extraordinary talent and boundless thinkers who are always looking for a better way and believe anything is possible. Like you, innovation and technology drive us. At Land O’Lakes, you will also be part of a community with creative doers and dreamers, who want to make a difference. We work together combining our global perspective and direct access to the source to create practical, new solutions to meet agriculture’s toughest challenges. Join the team at any Land O’Lakes location or with one of our retail-owners and you’ll sense the optimism, honesty and innovation that goes into everything we do. Together, we strive to feed human progress.
Job Posting Title: Mazuri Technical Associate
Job Description: The successful candidate will provide technical support to the Mazuri® R&D team, Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing, Quality, and Customer Service teams to support growth in the Mazuri® business unit. Accelerate go-to-market of Mazuri® products and sales and marketing support materials within the Land O’Lakes® and Purina® business structure by providing focus and efficiency.
Specific responsibilities include:
Requirements
Competencies & Other Skills
Required:
Preferred:
To apply, enter this address – https://landolakes.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LandOLakes/job/Virtual-USA/Mazuri-Technical-Associate_R-8990
Polar bears, the most carnivorous of the Ursidae family, prey primarily on ringed seals (Best, 1985; Derocher, et. al, 2000; Stirling and Archibald, 1977). When brought into captivity, maintaining their nutritional and mental health can be challenging. Due to the lack of indepth species-specific research, captive polar bear diets must be based on a combination of known requirements of related... 
Fecal condition scores and fecal color provide insight into how a diet is being digested by an animal and the state of gastrointestinal health. The following fecal condition scoring scales have been obtained from a variety of sources. We have credited the authors where we can, and encourage you to submit additional scales or corrections to attributions. More info is at the bottom of this page.
About Fecal Condition Scoring
As zoo and wildlife nutrition professionals, we utilize all information we can gather about the animals in our care and how they process their diet, especially information that can be gathered passively, 
without impact to the animal. One, often underutilized, tool that used to assess how an animal is processing their diet is a thorough examination of their feces (stool). This can be informal and subjective (i.e. – “loose,” or “pebble-like,” or “pudding”), but those words can mean different things to different people. If fecal consistency is used as a tool to assess how a diet is digested and/or overall animal health, an objective assessment of that consistency is necessary. We spend so much time looking at it, scooping it, moving it, dumping it, so let’s utilize it to better care for our animals!
Fecal condition scores are developed to provide an objective and commonly understood scale to assess and describe fecal material. Obviously, this differs with the species and digestive strategy in question (“ideal” horse and cow fecal material differs in consistency). For this reason, a variety of scales have been developed. These scales are primarily numerical with descriptive terminology and images associated with them. These efforts have primarily focused on domestic animals (dogs), but also have expanded to several wildlife species.
The scores range from simple 1-3, 1-5, or 1-7 point systems, to similar systems with sub-scores for each
number, and systems that score from 0-100 in 25 point increments. These types of scales are currently in place for some of our carnivore species, but remain undeveloped for most of the animals with which we work.
Fecal condition scores can provide insight into how a diet is being digested (otherwise utilized) by an animal (color is helpful, as well). Low scores (unformed, loose, diarrhea, etc) may indicate digestive upset, malabsorption, and/or possible hydration issues. On the other end of the spectrum, hard stools may indicate a lack of appropriate fiber, a water balance issue, etc. The routine use of fecal scoring systems with animals can provide an invaluable tool to veterinarians and animal managers when “something” changes with condition, consumption, and/or overall health.
We welcome the development of additional scales. This is an excellent opportunity for you, your staff, volunteers, interns, and other students to get involved in the development of a basic animal husbandry management tool! Need a fecal condition scoring scale for a species not represented? Consider the following:
If you know of additional published resources for this page, we encourage you to submit them for potential inclusion:
It is vitally important that omnivorous and carnivorous species in the care of zoos and aquariums receive the appropriate foods needed to meet their nutritional and behavioral requirements. Oftentimes this entails using ‘feeder animals’ as part of their diet. It is important that zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) make certain that feeder animals... 
The following body condition scoring (BCS) scales have been obtained from a variety of sources. We have credited the authors where we can, and encourage you to submit newly developed or modified scales or corrections to attributions. The following body condition scoring (BCS) scales have been obtained from a variety of sources. We have credited the authors where we can, and encourage you to submit newly developed or modified scales or corrections to attributions.
Click to expand
Body condition scoring (BCS) is a subjective measurement of an animal’s muscle definition and superficial fatty tissue.
BCS has been used for many years in the livestock industry to evaluate and improve the productivity, health, reproduction and longevity of herds. BCS has become increasingly common in zoological settings for many of the same reasons. Our greatest challenge in zoos is to develop practical systems or scales for the diverse species with which we work. Some scales have been well-developed and validated, while others remain works in progress. The NAG encourages the careful and thoughtful development of new scales, the refinement of those that already exist, and the diligent attention to their implementation for the good of the animals in our care.
About BCS Scales
Body condition scoring scales are numerical, and they typically range from 1 (emaciated) to either 5 or 9 (obese). When using a 5-point scale, many people will assign half points (2.5 or 4.5 out of 5), which effectively turns the 5 point scale into a 9 point scale. Whenever possible, we recommend the use of a 9 point scale.
Low BCS scores have been associated with lowered reproductive success, poor recovery from illness, and may be a sign of disease or age. High BCS scores have been associated with an increased risk of dystocia (difficulty giving birth), reproductive disorders, arthritis, diabetes, and other chronic conditions (Chan-McLeod et al. 1994; Burkholder 2000; Aeberhard et al. 2001; Busato et al. 2002; Berry et al. 2007; Boudreau 2012). Despite the known risks of being too far at either end of the BCS spectrum, a BCS score should be non-judgmental. You may be pleased that an animal recovering from a serious illness has moved from a 2 to a 3 (on a 9-pt scale), yet worry that a healthy animal has dropped from a 4 to a 3. You may be glad that an obese animal has dropped from an 8 to a 5, yet endeavor to raise an animal preparing for hibernation from a 5 to an 8 or 9 (which may be “normal,” physiologically, for the species in question). Keep in mind that just because it may be “normal” for a species to be over-conditioned at a specific time of year or life stage, this does not impact the BCS scale (a score of 8/9 remains 8/9, even if declared “appropriate” in terms of animal management; the scale does not “slide” to make that over-conditioned animal a 5/9). In addition, the scale is does not slide for growing, geriatric, or pregnant animals (regardless of stage of life, metabolic status, etc, the scale is designed to assess condition as objectively as possible).
If your species of interest does not have a scale established, please consider developing one. If you do, look at those that have already been thoughtfully developed.
Ideal BCS scales are easy to use, distinguish biologically relevant changes in status, provide enough description that multiple observers will obtain similar results, and, ideally, have been validated through other means (ultrasound, TOBEC, necropsy). Photographs and drawings should clearly show points of interest and be coupled with clear written descriptions. The NAG encourages you to share your systems by presenting a poster or presentation at our conference, or publishing in another format that can be accessed by the zoo community.
If you know of additional published resources for this page, we encourage you to submit them for potential inclusion:
The nutrient composition of domestic fruits, which have been selected and cultivated for sweetness, differs greatly from their wild counterparts. A simple comparison of domestic vs. wild figs reveals the difference. Our domestic vegetables (though still not perfect substitutes by any means) may more closely mimic the composition of wild fruits. For more information on fruit-free diets, see these articles:
