Zootrition!

On Saturday, the nutritionist, Eduardo Valdes, gave us a lecture on zoo nutrition. He used to work as nutritionist at the Toronto zoo, and was formerly a zoo keeper and has a background in horse nutrition research. In his lecture, he emphasized that what we don't know about zoo animals is so much greater than what we do know, and that what we don't know can sometimes end up being fatal for the animal. There's so much variation among zoo animals, and they're so different from well-studied animals like horses, pigs, chickens, and cattle that it's difficult to use a domesticated animal like that as a model.

Another challenge of zoo nutrition is replicating a diet in the wild; for example, it's difficult to create the African savannah in Florida. The grasses here are green and highly digestible; the grasses in Africa are brown and very difficult to digest. That sounds like a good thing, right? Florida grass is more nutritious than African savannah, so it would be better for the elephant and the giraffe and the impala and the gazelle to eat. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Each of these animals has developed a very specialized digestive system that gives them a specific niche in the African plains. The giraffe prefers to pick leaves from trees rather than eat the brown grass that the elephant can't get enough of. So instead of feeding the elephant lush green Florida grass, we feed him straw. The elephant needs that mass of mostly indigestible material in his gut to make sure it functions properly--that's how he's designed to eat.

The way the animals eat is also important. The giraffe needs to stretch out its neck while he is eating. If you offer the giraffe the best leaves you can find and put them on the ground, he's not going to eat them. We have to hang his leaves up high so that he has to stretch to reach them. This, too, ensures proper functioning of his digestive system.

Eduardo is a clinical nutritionist, so he also showed us pictures of nutrient deficiencies and toxicities. You can find vitamin A supplements in the reptile section of Petsmart, but too much vitamin A will make your turtle lose its scales. Too little vitamin A, on the other hand, will make your frog's tongue lose its stickiness. Too much phosphorus and not enough calcium in the diet will force your iguana to absorb its own bones. This is an irreversible problem.

We didn't get to see a great number of clinical photographs because Eduardo had already been lecturing for two and a half hours at this point, but I think he may kidnap us interns again sometime in the future to finish his presentation. I miss learning things... so I'm that much more excited about going to vet school in August. :D