What type of species at zoos are used to feed carnivores?

Lota lota

Lota lota

Well-Known Member
I know that it's very common for zoos to feed the carnivores with their own animals that they have put down.In all cases that i have observed it has been limited to ungulates which includes both domestics and wild species like deers and zebras.What type of animals that have been keept by the zoo (beside ungulate) do you know of or have witnessed being feed to carnivores.
Edit: My comma key is broken so that might be why my text might seem a little poorly written.
 
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erik gransjön said:
I know that it's very common for zoos to feed the carnivores with their own animals that they have put down.In all cases that i have observed it has been limited to ungulates which includes both domestics and wild species like deers and zebras.What type of animals that have been keept by the zoo (beside ungulate) do you know of or have witnessed being feed to carnivores.
Edit: My comma key is broken so that might be why my text might seem a little poorly written.
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If you are not referring to carnivora the monterey bay aquarium feeds their own jellies they cultured to some of the other jellies.

It seems that some jellies are also fed off when they are almost dead.
 
splendens said:
If you are not referring to carnivora the monterey bay aquarium feeds their own jellies they cultured to some of the other jellies.

It seems that some jellies are also fed off when they are almost dead.
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Those would be comb jellies in the genus Beroe. they are specialist feeders on other comb jellies. Monterey Bay Aquarium currently has Beroe abyssicola in their Into the Deep exhibit.
 
Herps fed with the same things that pet owners would feed them--crickets, mealworms, frozen mice, etc, though some species are pickier than others (for instance, king cobras in the wild feed almost entirely on smaller snakes, but in captivity can be conditioned to take rats instead). Larger carnivores would generally get beef and chicken.
 
erik gransjön said:
I know that it's very common for zoos to feed the carnivores with their own animals that they have put down.In all cases that i have observed it has been limited to ungulates which includes both domestics and wild species like deers and zebras.What type of animals that have been keept by the zoo (beside ungulate) do you know of or have witnessed being feed to carnivores.
Edit: My comma key is broken so that might be why my text might seem a little poorly written.
Click to expand...
Do zoos feed carnivores ungulates? From what I’ve heard most larger species get sent to morgues for a coroner’s investigation. I believe most carnivores are fed a mix of normal butchers meat and some sort of chow/kibble. If you mean smaller animals like otters or seals in aquariums they usually receive fresh caught groups of fish not just newly deads from other tanks. In fact some Asian zoos have some under controversy for feeding their newly dead animals to carnivores.
 
Westcoastperson said:
Do zoos feed carnivores ungulates? From what I’ve heard most larger species get sent to morgues for a coroner’s investigation. I believe most carnivores are fed a mix of normal butchers meat and some sort of chow/kibble.
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You should go read the dietary sections of any of the large carnivore ACMs on AZA's website, they get fed a lot more than you might think. Although you are not wrong that many dead zoo animals (in reputable facilities anyways) are not fed out but rather sent for autopsy and/or study.
However there is discussion somewhere on the site about some European zoos feeding out surplus hoofstock to their carnivores and that being a relatively regular practice. A number of fish-eating species are occasionally given live fish as enrichment, though I don't think it's particularly common. Live feeding of anything but insects tends to carry a significant gross factor to the public, which certainly deters the practice, along with the questionable ethics.
 
Great Argus said:
A number of fish-eating species are occasionally given live fish as enrichment, though I don't think it's particularly common. Live feeding of anything but insects tends to carry a significant gross factor to the public, which certainly deters the practice, along with the questionable ethics.
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From what I remember; in the UK it is actually illegal to use as live-feed anything with a backbone!
Though invertebrate live-feed is legal, aside from I guess invasive crayfish etc
 
Great Argus said:
However there is discussion somewhere on the site about some European zoos feeding out surplus hoofstock to their carnivores and that being a relatively regular practice.
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I have certainly spotted a number of photos of carnivores feeding in zoos, where the food appeared to be some sort of longer-haired brown wild animal like a deer or antelope.
 
dillotest0 said:
From what I remember; in the UK it is actually illegal to use as live-feed anything with a backbone!
Though invertebrate live-feed is legal, aside from I guess invasive crayfish etc
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This is not technically illegal at the moment, but has to be fully risk-assessed. Broxbourne for example have live fish in their new tiger pool. This will change under the new SSSMZP currently under 'consultation'.
What is illegal in the UK is for any BALAI Approved zoo to feed its own dead-stock to its own animals, however those are killed/die. ALL animals dying in an Approved zoo (from whatever cause) are classed as a Category 1 animal by-product and have to either go for incineration or be used for approved scientific purposes. They cannot legally be fed to other zoo animals.
 
Great Argus said:
You should go read the dietary sections of any of the large carnivore ACMs on AZA's website, they get fed a lot more than you might think. Although you are not wrong that many dead zoo animals (in reputable facilities anyways) are not fed out but rather sent for autopsy and/or study.
However there is discussion somewhere on the site about some European zoos feeding out surplus hoofstock to their carnivores and that being a relatively regular practice. A number of fish-eating species are occasionally given live fish as enrichment, though I don't think it's particularly common. Live feeding of anything but insects tends to carry a significant gross factor to the public, which certainly deters the practice, along with the questionable ethics.
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Yes some animals have been fed love fish but we’re those fish previously on exhibit or were they farmed? The main two I know of are the golden salmon at SeaWorld San Diego for the orcas (farmed fish imported to San Diego) and the fish in the polar bear exhibit and San Diego zoo (I doubt were once on exhibit somewhere else in the zoo).
 
Hi,

Zoos in Denmark and Sweden with their abundant breeding to kill are very much off from zoos worldwide. Laws differ between countries and time, but breeding and killing a healthy giraffe, like Marius in Copenhagen, would be a criminal offense in some other European countries.

Zoos commonly breed their own feeder animals like insects, rats and mice. But feeding other zoo animals to others in irregular to never done. First, there is conscience of zoo staff. Then, practical reasons. One is poisoning a carnivore with veterinary drugs. Unless the zoo, like Copenhagen, would kill a completely healthy animal by shooting, then e.g. a lynx eating a deer which was put to sleep by a veterinarian will get seriously ill. Some zoos learned it in the past at their cost. Then, the risk of passing diseases and parasites from prey to carnivore. And, it is usually much cheaper to get an equivalent meat from farm animals unfit to sale for human consumption than to breed and raise an animal in a zoo.
 
Here in Australia, captive Tasmanian Devils are often fed wallaby or pademelon carcasses. This can be roadkill, but in areas where Tasmanian Devils are found (where roadkill animals may have been scavenged by wild devils, with potential for transmission of devil facial tumour disease) this food is provided fresh by professional shooters.
 
In the UK carnivores are usually fed horse, cow, adult poultry (chicken, quail), day-old chicks, rodents etc. The chicks (all males) are a readily available 'by-product' of the egg industry.
 
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