Page 26 - Life In Naples March 2022 Flipbook

the Zoo Kitchen

4 Things No One Tells You About

by Ann Moss

nimals at a zoo are bougie. Their Meat — Chunk meat, ground specialty blends, chicken, and such
A menus should be five-star rated. and others.
Who eats this? Carnivores: lions, honey badgers, hyenas, coyotes,
As a volunteer in the zoo
kitchen at Naples Zoo, I help prepare Grains, hay, browse (browse is tree branches trimmed from acacia
animal diets. Yep. That means I chop, dice, trees for giraffe)
cut, peel and occasionally add a mouse or Who eats this? Hoof stock: giraffe, antelope, deer, and others.
two to dinner — sometimes, exactly 20 fat Mice, rats, crickets, worms, and fish are yummy treats.
crickets. Yum! Who eats this? Birds of prey, snakes, lizards, alligators, and more.
Work in the commissary is surprisingly Take a look at some personalized diets measured by the gram,
cathartic because you work with specific ounce, or pound, chopped to "size" so it is easy for the animal to
recipes designed for each animal - weighed to the gram, ounce, or manage. Third— Cleaning Protocols In The Kitchen Are Specific The Bottom Line
pound. Concentration is key. Hours pass before you glance at the The Cotton Top Tamarin, a delicate primate, has their food The number one rule in the Kitchen is: Do Not Cross The zoo kitchen is one of the foundational building blocks of any
clock. It's a good gig for both the workers and the animals. measured by the gram and cut into small chunks so they can hold Contaminate. zoo. An animal nutritionist professionally creates animal diets. The
Let's take a quick look at a zoo kitchen. the fruit with a tiny hand and nibble. To prevent cross-contamination and pathogens that cause animals eat fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, mice, rats, crickets,
First— The Zoo Kitchen Is A Big Deal At the other extreme, a lion might get 5 pounds of meat cut into illnesses such as salmonella and E. coli—meat, poultry, and seafood and worms depending on the animal and other factors such as age,
Not surprisingly, the animals eat every day — most eat twice a palm-sized chunks along with 5 pounds of specialty ground meat never cross paths with produce and grains. That means there are species, and general health. The diets are both nutritionally sound
day. with maybe a tad of chicken on the side. separate areas and utensils used respectively for meat, grains, and and provide enrichment opportunities that mimic behaviors found
Holidays, hurricane days, rain days — the kitchen never shuts Alligators enjoy hand-sized, bone-in chicken chunks, meat, produce. in a wild environment. In addition, zoo kitchens are probably more
down. special gator biscuits, and a few fish cut into thirds for training. Every day a commercial sanitizing dishwasher washes kitchen sanitized than your kitchen at home!
Knowing what and how much to feed each animal is a science (Yup. Alligators can be trained!) tools, cutting boards, and containers. Each prep station is disinfected Look For Aza Accredited Zoos!
and a well-respected profession called Animal with a solution that is changed every so often to ensure resistance to AZA-accredited Zoos must go through a strict evaluation every
Nutrition. The Washington National Zoo notes pathogens does not occur. five years by a specialized committee in zoo operations, animal
that "Clinical nutrition includes balancing diets Fourth— Just Like Us, Animals Get Bored And Need management, and veterinary. For example, Naples Zoo has been an
for all of the animals based on life stages, health Enrichment AZA-accredited zoo since 2001.
issues and transitions from one facility to another… Enrichment at a zoo includes various ways to imitate natural (1) https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/animal-nutrition-science
this provides the information keepers use to make animal behaviors and often includes food prepared in the kitchen. https://www.aza.org/nutrition-scientific-advisory-group
rational, science-based nutrition decisions." (1) For example, giraffes use their prehensile tongue in the wild https://www.aza.org/becoming-accredited
Additionally, a zoo’s kitchen has a generous to grab upper tree branches, strip the leaves and eat them. Using (2) https://www.dakotazoo.org/at-the-zoo/animal_food/
budget to accommodate the many dietary needs and enrichment to mimic a natural habitat behavior, cylindrical
fresh food required. Depending on the zoo, annual containers are hung, which includes holes in the sides where the
costs for food might total $65,000+ per year. (2) giraffe use their tongues to access the food.
Second — The Animals Eat Better Than Most "Many animals… receive whole prey in their diets. Reptiles,
People birds, and smaller mammal species are fed whole prey, including
Here's a peek at what their menu might look like mice, rabbits, and fish.
and what they eat: Although the carnivores' diets are always nutritionally complete,
Fresh Produce – veggies, fruit, and greens – it providing an entire portion of a carcass, including bones, skin,
looks a lot like your refrigerator should! Who eats connective tissue, and organs, is beneficial to carnivores, who evolved
this? Herbivores: bears, giraffes, primates, antelope, to eat exactly this way.
and tortoises. Eating carcasses takes a lot more time, energy, and work to eat
and digest, rather than butchered (or processed) meat. This extra
work has been scientifically shown to improve oral and digestive
health, as well as muscle tone."(1)

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Life in Naples | March 2022