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FEEDING WILDLIFE BEN220

Duration (approx) 100 hours
Qualification
Statement of Attainment

 

Study the nutritional needs and feeding management of wildlife species in captivity and natural environments.

Learn how different vertebrate species digest food, obtain nutrients, and require specialised diets to maintain health and wellbeing.

Develop the skills to assess feeding requirements, plan appropriate diets, and apply nutrition principles across a wide range of wildlife species.

Study online at your own pace with tutor support and practical learning activities that can be applied in wildlife parks, rescue centres, zoos, rehabilitation programs, and conservation projects worldwide.

 

    

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Course Content - 8 Lessons 

1: Wildlife, Energy & Feed Foundations

  • Energy flow in nature
  • Feeding ecology (the natural food web)
  • Types of feeders (e.g. herbivores, omnivores, etc.)
  • Major natural habitats
  • Feeding behaviour characteristics
  • Specific feeding behaviours
  • Replicating natural feeding behaviours
  • Nutritional ecology
  • Simulated feeding
  • Goals and benefits of simulated feeding
  • Simulated feeding applications
  • Welfare in captive care
  • Assessing animal welfare
  • Duty of care
  • Captive care, feeding and animal health
  • Responsibilities of handlers, trainers, managers, researchers, and veterinarians
  • Regulatory frameworks
  • Animal feeding terms and definitions – feed, diet, ration, palatability, digestibility, concentrates, basal feeds, supplements, etc.
2: Macronutrients
  • Food groups
  • Monosaccharides
  • Disaccharides
  • Trisaccharides
  • Polysaccharides
  • Carbohydrates as an energy source
  • Carbohydrate classification
  • Lipids (fats)
  • Lipid digestion
  • Sources of lipids
  • Protein
  • Biological value of protein
  • Protein content of foods
  • Function of protein
  • Protein sources
  • Water
  • Variations in water required for different animals
  • Factors affecting water intake

3: Micronutrients
  • Role of micronutrients
  • Deficiencies and toxicities
  • Minerals
  • Calcium – sources, deficiencies, and toxicities
  • Phosphorus – sources, effects, deficiencies, and toxicities
  • Magnesium – deficiencies and toxicities
  • Sodium and chloride
  • Potassium
  • Sulphur
  • Trace elements – iron, manganese, copper, iodine, cobalt, zinc, and selenium
  • Vitamins – including toxicities and deficiencies
  • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin D
  • Vitamin E
  • Vitamin K
  • Vitamin B complex
  • Vitamin C
4: Evaluating Feed & Digestibility
  • Digestibility in diet planning
  • Analysing feedstuffs
  • Minerals
  • Crude protein
  • Fats and oils
  • Fibre
  • Soluble carbohydrate
  • Maize composition as a food example
  • Calculating digestibility – true energy value of a diet
  • Determining total digestible nutrients (TDN)
  • Digestible crude protein (DCP)
  • Evaluating feeds
  • Protein value of different feed components
  • Feeding matrix – by species/group
  • Case study – grey wolf dietary requirements and age
5: Understanding Forage & Foraging Behaviour
  • Introduction and forage types
  • Types of forage land
  • Types of foragers
  • Different digestive systems = different feeds
  • Avian, monogastric, ruminant, etc.
  • Ways to feed fodder
  • Different fodder ecosystems
  • Grassland
  • Heathland
  • Moorland
  • Machair – dune pasture
  • Maquis – forest pasture
  • Rangeland
  • Savanna
  • Steppe
  • Wood pasture
  • Veld
  • Grasses, legumes, roots, and wildflowers
  • Forbs
  • Forbs and mineral nutrition
6: Managing Diets for Large Mammals
  • Different energy requirements for different animals
  • Water in the diet
  • Safe practices
  • Order Primates – macronutrients and micronutrients
  • Primate diets – folivorous, faunivorous, insectivorous, omnivorous, and frugivorous
  • Physiological adaptations for different diets
  • Order Carnivora – canid diets
  • Canids – carbohydrate and protein sources
  • Raw food diet risks
  • Order Felines
  • Feline protein sources
  • Dietary variations in wild cats
  • Case study – variations in puma dietary requirements
7: Managing Diets for Small Mammals
  • Rodent feeding common provisions
  • Rats
  • Hamsters
  • Guinea pigs
  • Chinchillas
  • Capybaras
  • Rabbit digestion
  • Rabbit diet
  • Grasses, hay, greens, and vegetables for rabbits
  • Bat feeding
  • Feeding insectivores
  • Hedgehog
  • Short-beaked echidna
  • Small carnivore mammals
  • Ferrets
  • Banded mongoose
  • Case study – sugar glider
8: Managing Diets for Birds, Fish and Reptiles
  • Bird feeding – parrots
  • Pellet feed for parrots
  • Mash/chop feed
  • Seeds, beans, and nut treats for birds
  • Bird feeding – fowl
  • Fowl feed for varied ages
  • Feed components for fowl
  • Pellet feed for fowl
  • Grain and mash
  • Chickens
  • Ducks
  • Fish feeding
  • Pelleted fish feed
  • Live fish feed
  • Night lights to assist hunting
  • Fish meal
  • Oil meals
  • Fish food production
  • Reptile feeding
  • Food for reptiles
  • Snakes
  • Chelonians – turtles and tortoises
  • Lizards

 

 

 

 

This course is ideal for:

  • Wildlife carers
  • Zookeepers
  • Rehabilitation staff
  • Conservation workers
  • Animal professionals
Courses can be started anytime from anywhere in the world!



Check out our eBooks

BirdsIdeal for Ornithology students or the budding bird enthusiast, this ebook offers an ideal foundation on birds. Learn to identify birds from around the world with over 130 colour photographs and 117 pages of fascinating bird facts.
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