The zoo kitchen is a very busy place.  Each animal has a different nutritional diet, which is kept as close as possible to their natural diet.  Close attention must be paid to the fiber, mineral, and fat content. So animals can behave naturally, much of their food is served similar to how they would eat in the wild.  Big cats are fed large pieces of meat, big bones and sometimes even whole chickens.  Primates forage for food so zookeepers hide raisins and nuts in grass and tree holes.  Humboldt Penguins eat a variety of fish. The Komodo dragon dines on rats or mice and raw horsemeat. The Egyptian Fruit Bat is served fresh nectar and fruit.  The Giant Red Kangaroo receives grain mixture, beet pulp, kale and hay. Many animals in the zoo eat prepared foods that are high in nutritional value and meet their specific needs supplemented by foods natural to their environment; the gorilla eats Monkey Chow (a hard prepared food that is a complete diet) vegetables, nuts and seeds. The blue eyed black lemur also enjoys a meal of monkey chow with the addition of carrots, oranges, grapes, raisins, escarole, gum and maple tree leaves.  Emu’s feed on commercially prepared food plus vegetables, fruit, and spinach greens. To determine how much each animal eats, they’re often fed in separate enclosures. 

Medications are generally administered only when needed. Keeping the diet of each animal nutritionally sound is key to their health.