Topic Summary:

This section contains evidence relating to various aspects of the selection, preparation and presentation of the contents of feeds provided to our animals, with supporting information. I have used the following to portray this:

• Photographs of stages of selecting and preparing a typical feed for our bears
• A witness statement, diary entry and photograph of a feed board relating to dietary changes I made this year
• A candidate report describing my selection, preparation and presentation of various aspects of the summer diet of a deer species
• A photograph demonstrating one method of scatter feeding food items fI have used for a carnivore species

European Brown Bears are highly intelligent species with complex feeding requirements intrinsically linked to the seasons of the 'bear year'. To replicate their wild feeding ecology as closely, captive bears should be fed at least three times a day, every day, with as much dietary variation as possible and with their changing energy requirements throughout the year in mind. At the height of the summer and into mid autumn, bears can consume around 18,000 calories per day, as they prepare for winter, when their intake will drop to around 2-4,000 calories per day in comparison. Energy intake generally increases gradually from spring through to summer and autumn. Every effort must be taken to maximise foraging possibilities for captive bears. 

At the Deer Centre, our bears Nelly (12) and Loki (4) are fed 3-4 times a day from spring through to late autumn. A large part of their diet is composed of a high volume of fruit and vegetables sourced from a local fresh produce supplier and also from waste food donated by the local branch of a large supermarket. They are also provided with a range of fish donated by the supermarket, and Rainbow Trout from a local fishery. Meats such as pigeon, rabbit, venison, beef and horse from other regular suppliers is also offered to the bears several times a week. Meats are provided with fur/feathers and on the bone whenever possible and whole carcass feeds given when available to aid digestion (from provision of fibre) and dentition (from bones). As of 21 April 2016, we were providing Nelly and Loki with approximately 20kg of food split between 4 feeds, as it is still early in the active part of their year.

Contents of the varied 'bear buckets' are prepared and are scattered widely within the enclosure, including up trees, in thickets, in the pond (mainly apples), in long grass, etc. This is done from within the enclosure whenever possible to lock the bears into their off-exhibit house (not always possible with Loki, though he is in the process of being desensitised to the house), however if this cannot be done, food is thrown over in various locations so that it is still 'scattered' as far as possible. Food is also presented in enrichment devices at times, frozen (e.g. pears in summer), or in the case of some treat items i.e. honey, smeared across furniture and in hard to reach places the bears have to seek out. Scent trails from natural fruit juices and blood are used routinely. 

The three photographs below show me carrying out three stages of provision of a bear feed:

1. The selection of feed contents from the walk-in chiller unit to make up a bear bucket
2. Weighing the bucket to ensure its the correct volume of food is being given
3. Preparing the contents of the feed by chopping up fruit and vegetable items to enable wider scattering within the enclosure to maximise foraging time. 

The fourth stage is the delivery and presentation of the feed as described above, however this is not shown here pictorially . 

It is often necessary to adjust the diets of our animals at the Deer Centre based on factors such as changes to appetite, weights and seasonal patterns. 

The witness statement shown below left and the diary entry and photograph of the feed board used at the Deer Centre (both to the right) all relate to feed observations I made regarding the appetite of our two eldest Scottish Wildcats, Bonnie and Wallace, throughout February and March 2016 and my proposal to reduce their feed to 300g per cat per day from 28 March onwards, which was accepted by the Head Keeper.

The witness statement and diary entry provide background data on my reasoning for proposing this change, whilst the photograph of the whiteboard shows the update made by the Head Keeper following consideration of my proposed changes.