建置臺北市立動物園馬來貘四季食譜 = Establishing seasonal food recipes for Tapirus indicus in Taipei Zoo

The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) is non-ruminant herbivores that inhabit tropical rainforests. In Taiwan, five Malayan tapirs are kept in Taipei Zoo, two adult males, two adult females, and one male calf. During the past years, some abnormal phenomena have occurred on these tapirs, such as soft feces, diarrhea, vomiting, and low serum albumin concentration. Therefore, more thorough understanding of their natural food habits will help to improve conservation of this endangered species. This study was intended to examine the seasonal recipes of Malayan tapirs in Taipei Zoo by: (1) Regularly monitor the changes in the nutritional composition of each ingredient in the recipes; (2) Regularly inspect the appearance of feces and take samples for bacterial composition analysis; (3) Regular hematological tests for health evaluation. Forage replacement test was conducted in each season to collect data of feed intake, fecal appearance traits, fecal composition, fecal bacterial composition and hematological profile. The results showed that the ratio of beneficial bacteria to pathogenic bacteria in feces in four seasons was 1.078 on average, and fecal score was 4.7, no diarrhea. The results of blood biochemical profile showed that there was no anemia in four seasons, but the albumin concentration was lower than normal except in summer. Digestible energy (DE) intake is above 0.14 Mcal/kg 0.75/d. The digestible protein (DP) intake of 8.1 g/kg0.75/d was the best condition for all Malayan tapir blood to reach a normal albumin concentrations after adjusting the summer recipes. In summary, the results of this study can serve as a reference for future evaluation and adjustment of diet recipes for Malayan tapirs. It can also be used to find more plants that Malayan tapirs may prefer and increase their food diversity.