At the Brandywine
Zoo the animal keepers feed and take care of the animals. The zoo is divided
into three sections, according to location. One section includes the llamas,
capybaras, rheas, otters, foxes, pygmy goats, coatis, pheasants, egrets,
and cranes. Another section includes the tigers, the owls, the cougar,
the bobcats, the binturongs, and condors. The third section includes all
the animals, such as the monkeys and reptiles in the exotic animal house.
Each day, keepers are assigned to a certain section, and they prepare the
food for the animals in their section. The animals are fed twice a day.
The monkeys get a bigger meal in the morning and smaller in the afternoon.
The rest of the animals get their bigger meal in the afternoon and smaller
in the morning. The tiger eats about 13-15 pounds of meat a day. But what
can you expect from a 400 pound animal?
The zoo uses the
services of a zoo nutritionist from the Philadelphia Zoo to decide what
to feed and how much to feed the animals. The keepers watch carefully what
the animals eat and how much. They want to make sure the animals are getting
a balanced diet.
In the zoo
kitchen there are "menus" or diets posted for each species of the animals.
There is a scale so everything can be weighed.
The animals are fed both specially prepared dry food which Purina makes just for specific zoo animals and fresh fruits and vegetables.
The carnivores are fed raw meat and chicken. There are frozen mice and rats for those who like rodents.
Medical care
The animal keepers watch the animals for any signs that they might not be completely healthy. If necessary a veterinarian is called in. The zoo uses the services of Dr. Lyn Klein, a veternarian from the University of Pennsylvania. She has been working with the animals at the Brandywine Zoo for many years. She is the one who helps them when they are sick. After she examines them, she develops a treatment plan for the animals. She also provides their routine physicals and takes care of their shots.
Enrichment
The animal keepers provide enrichment activities for the animals. For example, food might be put inside of a cardboard tube. The animal then finds the tube and has to find a way to get out the food. Paper mache or rubber balls might be put in the animals' exhibit for them to play with. At Halloween some animals were give a chance to play with a pumpkin. The keepers are always finding ways to stimulate the animals. The keepers also use a type of training called Target Training.
For some other interesting
animal care information, visit Sedgwick County Zoo's veterinarian pages:
http://www.scz.org/vet/fun/home.html
http://www.scz.org/vet/fun/zoo_doctor_jokes.html