Abstract
In order to get insight in the captive nutrition of cassowaries, of which some subspecies are endangered, a survey of diets fed to captive cassowaries in zoos worldwide was conducted in October 2004. All zoos responded (n = 13) keep double- wattled cassowaries, and more than 90% of birds are older than 15 months. Diets were based on daily supply of either commercial compound (ratite, dog, poultry, omnivore) diets, or mixtures of fruit and vegetables available, with weekly supplementation of animal (day old chickens, mice, rats) products. Based on a theoretical model applied for domesticated avian species a diet solely based on fruit and vegetables commonly fed in zoos would not supply the maintenance requirement for individual essential amino acids of an adult cassowary of 50kg. However, digestive and physiological adaptations in frugivores species to a nutrient deficient diet is poorly understood. Possible implications, such as ‘nutritional disturbance’ and ‘nutritional imprinting’ of captive diets in conservation of the cassowary are discussed.