Elephant

Elephas maximus & Loxodonta africana

Natural diet Elephant

Elephants are herbivorous intermediate grazers and browsers. In the wild, they usually spend a few days eating in one place before they move on to the next. They drink water whenever its available.

Fruits

Grasses

Herbs

Leaves

Feeding advice Elephant

Feed quantity per day

1.5-3%

Sample percentage calculation

If an animal weighs 4,000 kg and eats 2% of its body weight, it will get

4,000 x 0.02 = 80 kg feed in total per day

Feed composition

20% Concentrates
60% Grass, alfalfa, roughage
20% Browse

Proportions (fresh product)

0.2 x 80 kg = 16,000 g concentrates
0.6 x 80 kg = 48,000 g grass, alfalfa, roughage
0.2 x 80 kg = 16,000 g browse

Feeding advice Elephant

Feed quantity per day

1.5-3%

Sample percentage calculation

If an animal weighs 4,000 kg and eats 2% of its body weight, it will get

4,000 x 0.02 = 80 kg feed in total per day

Feed composition

20% Concentrates
60% Grass, alfalfa, roughage
20% Browse

Proportions (fresh product)

0.2 x 80 kg = 16,000 g concentrates
0.6 x 80 kg = 48,000 g grass, alfalfa, roughage
0.2 x 80 kg = 16,000 g browse

Diet Suggestions

Not recommended

Fruits

Common diseases

An unbalanced diet may result in one of these more commonly occurring diseases/conditions:

Obesity
Vitamin E deficiency
Colic
Hypocalcaemia
Teeth or tusk problems

Additional advice

Divide the “Feed quantity per day” over at least two feeding moments per day.
Supplement the diet with ad libitum roughage and/or browse (read more about browsers and grazers).
Supplement adequate vitamin E by feeding sufficient concentrates.
Although present in their natural diets, feeding fruits might lead to abnormal fermentation in the hindgut because of high sugar levels in cultivated fruits compared to wild fruits (read more about nutritional values of (wild) fruits and vegetables).
Stimulate foraging behaviour by hiding, stacking or hanging the feed (read more about feed enrichment and foraging behaviour).

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