This cache is located inside the Assiniboine Park Zoo and an entrance fee is required. Summer hours: Open at 9:00 AM and gates close at 4:30 PM. Winter hours: Open at 9:00 AM, and gates close at 3:30 PM. Please respect our plants and animals at the zoo. Please stay on paths and observe signs.
How do our zoo animals eat healthily?
Assiniboine Park Zoo has an Animal Nutrition Centre, formerly called the Commissary. It is a building where we store and prep food before it goes to various parts around the zoo. Staff members communicate with our Veterinarian team, to make sure that our animals are getting the right amount of food based on their weight. Sometimes, we remove an animal from its group so it can eat separately, if the other animals are not letting it get enough food.
We base our animal’s diets on similar things to what they might find in the wild. For example, an Amur Tiger might eat a Sika Deer. While we cannot feed it a deer, we can provide it with meat, such as rabbit, chicken, or lamb. Various zoos and suppliers will also design food items for animals, to ensure they get all the vitamins and nutrients that they need. Some animals may also get special items as treats, which help to act as a reward during their Positive Reinforcement Training.
At Assiniboine Park Zoo, dead carcasses go to our carnivores, as we do not want to be cruel to other living animals. The exception is that some animals eat farmed, live insects. In these cases, the animal will only eat live insects. We need to be respectful of an animal’s natural diet. While it might seem wrong to some that we give a farmed, dead rabbit to cougar to eat, it will not eat a salad no matter how hard we try.
This cache host blends in well with its environment. You're looking for a film canister type container. Special thanks to cacher-extraordinaire, rekal, for his help with this one. It makes me giggle just thinking about it...