This information is from 2016. Check out the Family Fun Calgary Major Attractions Guide.

If you have messy young eaters (or ravenous teenagers), you may feel that your own dinner table resembles ‘feeding time at the zoo’, but now your family can visit The Calgary Zoo to see how real carnivores chow down!

The Calgary Zoo places great importance on providing the appropriate diet for every animal in their care, including giving the animals their food in a manner that meets their nutritional, behavioural and social needs. For carnivores, one strategy is to provide the animals with large carcass pieces (typically bison, mutton and horse, provided by licensed Alberta facilities). These carcass pieces are closer to what these animals would experience in the wild and afford many nutritional and health benefits.

Here’s a sneak peak!

How does carcass feeding benefit the carnivores?

The essential nature of a carnivore is linked to the activities of capturing, processing and consuming prey which has nutritional value, but also is important for their oral health (gums and teeth) to tear down pieces of meat off bones and skin. Likewise, processing hair, feathers, skin and tendons is important for their digestive system (roughage). There are behavioral advantages to this practice as well, as feeding prey is stimulating for our animals as they interact with their food around their habitats.

 

Intrigued to see how the zoo’s carnivores take on one of these complex meals? Now you can plan your Calgary Zoo visit around seeing your favourite carnivores dig in! Remember – to skip the admissions line, you can always buy your Calgary Zoo tickets online. Carnivore feedings take place at 1 pm daily, according to the following schedule:

Monday: Grizzly Bears
Did you know? In order to prepare for the upcoming winter, bears in the summer will eat as much food as they can find…packing on the pounds becomes their number one priority!

Tuesday: Otters 
Did you know? River otters have very high metabolisms to keep up with their high-energy lifestyle, meaning they can eat all they want and still retain their long-slender frames!

Wednesday: Lions 
Did you know? Male lions can consume up to 40 kg of meat in a single feeding…imagine eating 405 hot dogs in a single meal!

Thursday: Snow Leopards 
Did you know? Snow leopards are in no rush to finish their meal, sometimes taking 3 to 4 days to consume their prey.

Friday: Cougars 
Did you know? Cougars have true iron stomachs…porcupine quills in various stages of digestion have been found within the digestive tracts of these cats!

Saturday: Tigers 
Did you know? The average tiger will eat roughly 50 deer-sized animals per year…almost one per week!

Sunday: Komodo Dragons or Snow Leopards (alternating weeks)
Did you know? Komodo dragons will routinely prey on water buffalo…an animal 13 times the size of the dragon itself!

 

Admission from every visit to the Calgary Zoo goes towards helping sustain wildlife and wild places. To plan a really awesome, and unique, day at the zoo, check out the daily schedule of programs before you go.

Like the rest of those daily programs, carnivore feedings are included in your Calgary Zoo day admission or annual membership, so swing by the appropriate animal enclosure today and see how these animals would enjoy their meal in the wild! Which do you want to see first?

Carnivore Feedings at The Calgary Zoo Details:

Time: 1 pm daily – as shown on the schedule above
Where: Calgary Zoo
Address: 1300 Zoo Rd NE, Calgary AB
Website: www.calgaryzoo.com