Leipzig Zoo - European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

Poster:
Faeces consistency in captive tapirs
S. Lang 1 , E.P. Medici 2 J. Fritz 1 , J.-M. Hatt 3 J. Hummel 1,4 , M. Clauss 1
1 Institute of Physiology, Physiological Chemistry and Animal Nutrition, Munich, Germany, 2 IPÊ -
Institute for Ecological Research, São Paulo, Brazil, 3 Department of Zoo Animals and Exotic Pets,
Zurich, Switzerland, 4 Zoological Garden of Cologne, Germany
The consistency of the faeces is one of the few medical parameters that is monitored in every zoo as a
daily routine. Changes in faecal consistency are an early sign of digestive upset, and are often the first
observation reported by animal keepers to the veterinary staff as an indication of a potential medical
problem.
In captive tapirs, the assessment of faecal consistency is often prevented by the fact that these animals
prefer to defecate in a water basin, which they have at their disposal in many facilities. However, we
also experienced that the conception of “normal” tapir faeces differs widely between facilities.
Therefore, we photographed tapir faeces from several facilities and from free-ranging lowland tapirs.
Additionally, the particle size distribution in tapir faeces from captivity and from the wild was
investigated by wet sieving.
With one exception, captive tapirs generally had faeces of a cow pie-consistency, with little indication
of formed pieces. In contrast, faeces of free-ranging tapirs consisted of small, compact, formed balls.
Only the faeces of one captive tapir, fed a very high proportion of roughage, resembled those of the
free-ranging animals. These observations alone indicate that a higher proportion of concentrate (nonroughage)
feeds in captive tapirs leads to softer, less formed faeces. Therefore, one would expect
smaller faecal particles in captive tapirs as a reflection of the lesser proportion of roughage in their
diets. In contrast, faecal particle size was generally higher in captive tapirs.
The results suggest that on the one hand, captive tapirs make little use of offered roughage (grass or
lucerne hay), with the result of soft faeces. However, the roughage portion that they do ingest is
masticated into larger particles than the forage they ingest in the wild. This could be an indication that
the dentition of tapirs, which is different from that of other perissodactyla, is poorly suited for the
mastication of hay forages and might therefore be the reason for the low acceptance of these forages
observed in captive animals.
Author’s address:
Stefanie Lang & Marcus Clauss
Institute of Animal Physiology, Physiological Chemistry and Animal Nutrition
Schönleutnerstr. 8
85764 Oberschleissheim
Germany
clauss@tiph.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de
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