Table 2 Fat and protein intake of 9 zoo polar bears and 5 captive brown bears fed ad libitum options of meat and fat (lard or salmon oil) and free-ranging polar bears in the Chukchi (n = 229) consuming diets of marine mammal prey. Zoo polar bears were provided lean meat and lard. Brown bears were provided salmon and salmon oil11. Standard deviations were calculated for the dry matter intake of fat and protein of Chukchi Sea polar bears using standard deviations of individual dietary components in Table 1 with respective proportional protein and fat content of prey tissues.
Zoo | Age | Sex | % of dry matter intake | % of metabolizable energy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fat | Protein | Fat | Protein | |||
Alaska Zoo, Anchorage, AK | 16 | F | 72 | 28 | 85 | 15 |
Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, IL | 13 | M | 67 | 33 | 81 | 19 |
Columbus Zoo, Columbus, OH | 13 | F | 54 | 46 | 71 | 29 |
20 | M | 59 | 41 | 75 | 25 | |
Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, St. Paul, MN | 24 | M | 58 | 42 | 75 | 25 |
24 | M | 63 | 37 | 78 | 22 | |
Detroit Zoo, Detroit, MI | 14 | M | 71 | 29 | 84 | 16 |
6 | F | 55 | 45 | 72 | 28 | |
Seneca Park Zoo, Rochester, NY | 24 | F | 50 | 50 | 61 | 39 |
Average (stdev) for Zoo bears | 60 ± 9 | 40 ± 9 | 76 ± 7 | 24 ± 7 | ||
Brown bears (salmon/salmon oil) | 66 ± 5 | 34 ± 5 | 80 ± 3 | 20 ± 3 | ||
Chukchi Sea adult polar bears | F | 69 ± 8 | 31 ± 2 | 83 | 17 | |
M | 63 ± 5 | 37 ± 2 | 78 | 21 | ||
Chukchi Sea young adult bears | F | 70 ± 8 | 30 ± 2 | 82 | 17 | |
M | 67 ± 8 | 33 ± 2 | 81 | 19 | ||
Chukchi Sea subadult bears | F | 70 ± 8 | 30 ± 2 | 83 | 17 | |
M | 71 ± 9 | 29 ± 2 | 84 | 16 | ||
Average for Chukchi Sea bears | 68 | 32 | 82 | 18 | ||
