Large carnivore feeding in European zoos

Abstract

While zoo carnivore life expectancy has increased, the question remains how these longer lives are spent. Because feeding management may particularly infl uence carnivore behaviour, we collected and recorded feeding routines in 44 European zoos in 7 different countries by personal visits. During these visits, we assessed the current feeding situation in zoos, which was achieved by accompanying the responsible staff members on their daily routines with 11 different carnivore species. Meat on bone as a diet item was used by the majority of zoos, and carcass feeding was mainly practiced with small (rodents, rabbit, chicken), but hardly with large carcasses. Whereas many institutions reported a certain repertoire of feeding methods of varying potential enrichment value, during the visits themselves, most institutions used those methods of their feeding repertoire that can be considered less labour-intensive and less enriching. The number of institutions that only used a limited number of feeding methods was unexpectedly high, and methods like swing pole feeders, pulley feeders or self-serving feeders (excl. time-delayed feeders and barrel feeders in bears) were not in use in the visited institutions. Additionally, neither methods that require social carnivores to cooperate to access food, nor other feeding methods during which animals can actually fail to obtain their food (mimicking unsuccessful hunting) were reported. We suggest that in order to more closely mimic natural conditions and possibly enhance carnivore welfare, large carcass feeding in physically and cognitively challenging ways should be used more frequently, with a written feeding management plan to ensure that these feeding methods are not only used sporadically, but at a consistent frequency. Such an approach could at the same time ensure that appropriate resources in terms of facilities, equipment, diet items, and work time are available.