Page 9 - Gateways_2019-Summer

Turning SCIENCE A black-handed spider monkey
over a carries its leafy dinner to a more
New Leaf isloated place in the canopy
of Tropic World.

Mexican wolves Apache (left) and Ela (right) are Brookfield Zoo’s new wolf alpha pair. Brookfield Zoo’s primates
are going low sugar!
Running with the Pack
Dr. Jennifer Watts, the Society’s
CARE Making changes, especially when they involve director of nutrition, is reducing
the amount of sugar that animals
saying goodbye, can be hard. But when it comes in Tropic World receive. Simple
to saving endangered animals, sometimes these sugars are not good for the
changes can have a profound impact on an entire species—and primates’ teeth and are linked
the new hellos can be especially exciting! to higher incidences of obesity
Last fall, we bid farewell to many of Brookfield Zoo’s Mexican and diabetes.
wolves as they relocated to new homes at other institutions
accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). While the sugar that these
The relocations were based on breeding recommendations by animals receive comes from fruit,
the AZA’s Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan. and many of these animals eat
Five-year-old Zana and 7-year-old Flint were Brookfield Zoo’s fruit regularly in the wild, it’s still
alpha pair for several years—they had two litters of their own and important to limit their intake
also raised two pups from the wild as part of our participation under professionally managed
in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s cross-fostering program care. Domestic fruit differs
(meaning puppies born at the zoo were placed in a wild pack, drastically from the wild fruit
while wild puppies were brought back to Brookfield Zoo). Now, found in these animals’ native
Zana, Flint, and their offspring are thriving in new homes. habitats, because domestic fruit
Ela, a female from Flint and Zana’s 2016 pups, remains at has been modified to appeal to
Brookfield Zoo. And several months ago, 7-year-old Apache arrived humans’ sweet-loving palates,
from Albuquerque’s BioPark Zoo as a mate for Ela. Introductions Watts said.
between the two animals went smoothly, and we hope to see
pups frolicking with them in their home soon. Research also shows that a
Two new female wolves—Rain and Pika—are also spending some high-fiber diet focused on leafy
time at Brookfield Zoo. The Chicago Zoological Society’s Dr. Copper greens and low in sugar can be
Aitken-Palmer is a world-renowned reproductive specialist and is very beneficial for great apes, in
closely monitoring their reproductive cycles to determine when they particular reducing negative and
are most fertile. Soon, they will leave here to begin their own packs. unhealthy behaviors.
While we are sad to see some of Brookfield Zoo’s beloved wolves
move on, Zana and Flint are still together at the Endangered Wolf While Watts is implementing
Center in Missouri. As for their grown pups, in the wild, young general guidelines (right now,
wolves normally leave their natal pack when they are 2 or 3 years she recommends animals receive
old, so these changes were healthy and natural for our wolves. a 70/30 split of low-sugar to high-sugar foods and hopes to gradually
move to a 90/10 split), animal care specialists are able to pick specifically
what items their animals receive, as long as the foods fit within this ratio.

“We’re not forbidding fruit, it certainly has its place—for one, it’s a
great training tool,” Watts said. “Care staff might just think twice about
feeding their animals a banana, as that has about twice the amount of
sugar as some other fruits, such as a kiwi or orange. It’s also a chance for
them to think about some other items they haven’t used before, which
would be more in line with these animals’ natural diets. I think it’ll be
quite a positive change.”

BROOKFIELD ZOO | SUMMER 2019 9