From babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa) to domestic pig: the nutrition of swine.

Abstract

Interest in the nutrition of wild and captive wild animals has grown exponentially during the last few years. In the past, the amount of research carried out on domesticated animals, mainly geared towards improving economic efficiency of production of meat and dairy products, vastly outweighed research performed on wild animals. During the last two decades heightened public awareness of the need for nature conservation and for respect for animal welfare have brought new reasons for, and meaning to, further research in the fields of both domestic and wild animal nutrition. As natural habitat becomes more and more fragmented and as wild animals are more and more confined to protected wildlife areas designated by man, a thorough knowledge of the feeding ecology of the wild animals living in these areas becomes essential for the successful conservation of these species. Furthermore, assisting nature conservation now constitutes one of the main goals of modem zoos