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| Smith, Y.; de Waal, H.O.; Kok, O.B. | |
| Aspects of carcass digestibility by African lions under captive conditions | |
| 2006 Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences (9): 2149-2152 | |
Feed intake and digestibility trials were conducted on captive African lions (_Panthera leo_). An adult female and sub-adult male were used in a zoo environment and a sub-adult male and large cub female under reserve conditions. The lions were fed large chunks of fresh animal carcasses under controlled conditions. Afterwards, refusals and feces were collected over several days, analysed and weighed. Apparent digestibilities were fairly high ranging from 77.4 to 94.3% in the zoo and from 83.8 to 95.6% at the nature reserve. Fecal excretion was highly variable and irregular, the lions excreting up to four times following food ingestion and in some cases only twice. Possible reasons for this are discussed. The consistency, moisture content and colour of the scat also varied between the two trial sites. Plant material was regularly ingested in both environments, apparently to assist in purging the digestive tract. Being obligatory carnivores, the gastrointestinal tract of four African lions of different ages and sexes was found to be relatively simple, short and uncomplicated. |
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