Nutritional science for zoo animals has advanced enormously. Evidence-based diet formulation prevents deficiency diseases and supports the behavioral and physiological needs of diverse species.
Zoo nutrition directly affects animal welfare at every level — from preventing deficiency diseases that cause pain and disability to supporting the behavioral feeding repertoire that gives animals cognitive and physical engagement. Species with highly specialized wild diets are most at risk: frugivores require diverse fruit species and cannot thrive on a narrow selection; carnivores need bone content for dental health and natural mineral balance; herbivores with fermentation-dependent digestion can develop gut dysbiosis on inappropriate substrates. Diet presentation matters as much as composition: animals fed once or twice daily from a bowl miss the foraging time that constitutes a major portion of wild activity budgets. Scatter feeding, puzzle feeders, and hidden food items extend foraging time and provide behavioral enrichment simultaneously. Nutritional expertise is now considered essential zoo infrastructure, not an optional add-on.