“Observations of growth and caloric intake of two polar bears (Ursus maritimus) hand raised using a revised protocol”

Mark S. Edwards, Ph. D., Karen J. Lisi, MEM, MS

Table 1. Selected nutrient composition of formulas used for hand-rearing polar bears, species milk composition and a standard formula used for rearing non-specialized bear species.

   

dry matter basis

Item

Total Solids, %

ME, kcal/g

Crude Protein, %

Whey, %

Casein, %

Whey:

Casein

Crude

Fat, %

Total CHO, %

Formula

SDZ, 30-March

26.3

6.12

19.7

5.8

15.2

28:72

45.7

30.7

SDZ, 05-April

30.5

6.06

20.1

6.0

15.5

28:72

44.5

31.5

SDZ, 05-August

30.5

5.85

21.7

6.4

16.7

28:72

40.4

33.8

Brookfield, 2001a

18.5

6.31

30.6

-

-

-

53.0

10.0

Polar bear milk

Jenness

47.6

-

22.9

8.0

14.9

35:65

69.5

0.6

3 mos. postpartum

52.4

7.71

20.0

-

-

-

68.3

9.0

10 mos. postpartum

43.8

7.63

27.6

-

-

-

62.8

4.1

aKerri Silfka, MS, Nutritionist, Chicago Zoological Society, personal communication

Table 2. Selected nutrient composition of formulas used for hand-rearing polar bears.

   

dry matter basis

Item

Total Solids, %

Ca, %

P, %

Fe, ppm

Zn, ppm

Vitamin A, IU/kg

Vitamin E, IU/kg

Vitamin D3, IU/kg

SDZ, 30-March

26.3

0.62

0.45

61.1

45.7

17976

113

3946

SDZ, 05-April

30.5

0.63

0.46

62.5

46.6

18397

111

4038

SDZ, 05-August

30.5

0.68

0.49

67.2

50.1

19786

104

4343

Brookfield, 2001a

18.5

0.96

0.69

143.8

51.0

52124

212

8346



Growth of two hand-reared polar bears
Figure 1. Growth of two hand-reared polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from d 90 to 342.