Analyses of diets fed to babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa) in captivity with respect to their nutritional requirements

Abstract

Although very little is known about the diet of Babirusa in the wild, they have been successfully kept incaptivity in zoos around the world for 200 years. Studies have shown that the anatomy of their digestive tract is quite different from that of the domestic pig and as a consequence their food digestion is also likely to be different. As part of a wider study of the digestion of the Babirusa, the diet fed to animals in 25 zoos worldwide (16 Europe, 7 USA, 2 Indonesia) were analysed for their nutritional content. The results of these analyses will be presented and discussed in the light of the findings of other recent experiments on the food selection, diet digestion and foraging behaviour of Babirusa.