A healthy diet is of tremendous importance to both humans and animals. Nutritionists and other specialists are gaining increasingly more knowledge about nutrition and its effects on our bodies. The past few decades were marked by a growing understanding among the scientific community that an animal’s diet should not only provide for its nutritional needs, but should also stimulate its natural behaviour.
The aviary of the future is located in the very heart of the City of Antwerp, at the edge of Antwerp ZOO. ‘We have 23 species of birds flying about in our Savannah Aviary, all of whom we can check up on individually due to our recall training,’ explains Jan Dams, Curator of Birds and Animal Care Coordinator. Thanks to months of training and the expertise built up by the zookeepers, each species now recognises a specific signal that prompts it to spread its wings and fly straight to its carers.
Animal welfare is high on our agenda, that’s why we have our own animal welfare scientist. Her job is to initiate, develop and conduct zoo-based research projects aimed at better understanding the welfare state of the animals in our care.
Nutritious winter leaves for our animals are difficult to get. To find out whether more nutrients are retained by ensiling willow leaves than by current alternatives for feeding our gorillas, we have joined up with of Odisee University College.