Gorilla Diet

hadrada

hadrada

Well-Known Member
Ok Folks..

Im designing an enclosure for 9 Gorillas (on paper),its a mix between Howletts/Chessington/Columbus..ie the "cage" type.

Ill explain that later but what i want is some input/suggestions of daily feeding..

My suggestions:

Morning Feed: Celery,Green Beans,Cabbage,Carrots,Sweet Potatoes,Tomatoes.

Afternoon Feed: Fresh Tree Browse(which tree i dont know??) + scatter feed of Sunflower seeds,Figs,Cashew nuts,Raisins and Ryvita Crackers ?from the roof of the the enclosure...inside & out.

Evening Feed: Banana,Oranges,Apples,Cucumber,Broccoli.Pear.

Drink: Water,Non-sugared Ribena juice.

All suggestions welcome :)
 
Howletts & Port Lympne, who are the experts in this field, try to feed as wide a range of foods as possible and to provide a variety of foods from day to day. For example you could add a range of salad type vegetables and herbs - lamb's lettuce, fennel, parsley etc. They would be good for roof scatter feeding to encourage the gorillas to climb up to pull them through the wire.

Alan
 
Thanks Gentle Lemur... :)

Yep,i was going to alternate the feeds with others such as Kale,Leeks,Cauliflower,Artichokes,Turnip,Eggplant,Parsnips,Starfruit,Peaches etc..

Will add your suggestions regarding the roof feed.

:)
 
I recall the Edinburgh ones being fond of leeks - can't recall if they like onions as well, but I think they like strong tasting foods
 
If they are fond of strong tasting foods, then there must be plenty of rosemary and garlic on that on that leg of lamb. :)


However it is interesting to find out if they do indeed like or have a preference powerful flavours such as herbs, or bitter tastes (lemons) and hot (chilli) flavours an so on. As already mentioned raw leeks are fairly pungent.
 
The other thing to consider is proteins - wild gorillas eat a small quantity of invertebrates/molluscs - so either supplements or some form of invertebrate feed (mealworms?)
 
@Davef68....Yep leeks and onions are on the diet,pretty sure a lot of zoos do,i know Paignton did when i was there.
Mealworms are being fed using enrichment tubes.

@Pootle....Doubtful about the lemons or chillis,never heard of any zoo trying it but who knows.

Struggling to think of types of tree browse i could use,any ideas anyone?
 
hadrada said:
@Davef68....Yep leeks and onions are on the diet,pretty sure a lot of zoos do,i know Paignton did when i was there.
Mealworms are being fed using enrichment tubes.

@Pootle....Doubtful about the lemons or chillis,never heard of any zoo trying it but who knows.

Struggling to think of types of tree browse i could use,any ideas anyone?
Click to expand...

willow browse would probably be the most widely available but also horse chestnut, sycamore and bamboo would be enjoyed I think.
 
Gorilla food

I very recently did a Gorilla keeper for the day at Howletts, the Gorillas are fed an amazing variety of fruit, veg, herbs, nuts and seeds and I think it was alder cuttings from the park also. They are up to about 130 different types that get alternated and they get treats too.
 
Thanks Ianlw and welcome to zoochat :)...Gorilla Keeper at Howletts for a day,wow!!..lucky guy.

130 different types?..Im gonna try to stick to around a hundred and im working on treats.

Ok guys, the browse is sorted and ive gone with...Hornbeam,Beech,Elder,Lime,Birch,Willow,Alder,Sycamore,Horse Chestnut and Bamboo.

Veg & Herbs next...
 
hadrada said:
Thanks Ianlw and welcome to zoochat :)...Gorilla Keeper at Howletts for a day,wow!!..lucky guy.

130 different types?..Im gonna try to stick to around a hundred and im working on treats.

Ok guys, the browse is sorted and ive gone with...Hornbeam,Beech,Elder,Lime,Birch,Willow,Alder,Sycamore,Horse Chestnut and Bamboo.

Veg & Herbs next...
Click to expand...

I would remove the Alder, and replace with Hazael, which is widely available throught the U.K.
 
Ok thanks hantslad :)

Apart from the veg & herbs mentioned before, ive added...Asparagus,Broadbeans,Mushrooms,Marrow,Sweetcorn,Sprouts,Courgettes,Red Cabbage,Pumpkin,Beetroot?,Iceberg Lettuce,Alfafa,Sugarbeet,Celeriac,Spinach,Basil?.
 
Sounds good Alan,ill take that too if its being harvested right now,locally produced and cheap...Excellent!! :)
 
Fruit..again thats not been mentioned so far..

Strawberries,Cranberries,Elderberries,Cherries,Kiwi,Nectarines,Passion Fruit,Peaches,Grapefruit?,Cherry Tomatoes,Mango,Water Melon,Honeydew Melon,Canteloupe,Pineapple Chunks,Plums.

Nuts & seeds..Chestnuts,Salted Peanuts,Brazil Nuts,Sesame Seeds.

Treats..Ryvita Cracker Peanut Butter Sandwiches,Yoghurts,"Iced Yoghurt Lolly's" in hot weather[suggested by the wife;)] and "Sesame biscuits"..Baked Wholemeal dough with raisins,Sesame seeds and glazed with Honey.
 
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