Cuts or carcasses? Diet form affects fecal microbial and animal fiber fractions in a large carnivore, the Asiatic lion.

ABSTRACT: The care of exotic felids in zoos involves numerous factors, and the dietary management is currently considered particularly critical. This study investigated the effects of four different dietary regimens on the fecal microbiota and fecal characteristics of four female Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) at the Rotterdam Zoo, the Netherlands. The lions were sequentially fed beef meat on bone (BM01, 4 weeks), degutted and skinned cattle carcasses (CC, 4 weeks), degutted but unskinned banteng carcasses (BC, 2 weeks), and then returned to beef meat on bone (BM02, 4 weeks). Feces were collected at day 28, 56, 70 and 98, and represented the total feces of the group between the last feeding and the next feeding. 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed significant microbial shifts at phylum level, incl

SUBMITTER: Sun M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12543182 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature