NDF digestibility: Sheep, Horse and Black Rhinoceros

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NDF digestibility Sheep, Horse and Black
Rhinoceros
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4 sub-species

• South-Central (Diceros bicornis minor)
• South-Western (Diceros bicornis bicornis)
• East-African (Diceros bicornis michael)
• West-African (Diceros bicornis longpipes)
• Diceros Greek (Di two Ceros horn) and Latin
  Bicornis (Bi two Cornis horn)
• So the southwestern black rhino is a two horn two
  horn two hornhmm

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Physical Characteristics

• Black rhinos attain a weight of 2,1002,900 lb
  (9501,300 kg) shoulder height of 5663 in
  (143160 cm) and head and body length of 112120
  in (286305 cm). Male and female are similar in
  size.
• Despite name, the skin is gray to brownish gray
  in color, and devoid of hairs.
• Horns are made of Keratin. Anterior horn is
  16.554 in (42138 cm) in length, the posterior
  one 820 in (2050 cm).
• Have a saddle-backed appearance, rounded ears,
  and tend to hold the head high, except when
  feeding on low vegetation.

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Behavior

• Largely solitary, although groups of three to
  five animals may occasionally form.
• A cow and her calf comprise the basic social
  unit, and adult males are solitary, except when
  courting a female
• When adult males meet, a complex bull ceremony
  may take place, involving stiff-legged scraping,
  imposing postures, and short charges sometimes
  accompanied by screaming groans.
• Females are not territorial, but males will
  tolerate submissive intruder males.

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Behavior

• Males mark the environment with long drag marks
  made by the legs, spray urine over bushes or
  other objects, and deposit feces on dung-heaps.
• Females use the same dung-heaps and animals of
  both sexes scatter their droppings with
  backwardly directed kicks.

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Distribution The Black Rhinoceros once roamed
the lower half of Africa in hundreds of
thousands. Today it survives in pockets
primarily in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya,
Namibia and Tanzania.
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Feeding Ecology and Diet

• Live primarily on grasslands, savannahs, and
  tropical bushland habitats.
• Predominantly low-level browsers, feeding on
  small saplings and shrubs under 5 ft (1.5 m) in
  height as well as a variety of herbs, thorny
  wood, fruit and occasionally small amounts of
  grass. They often browse in the morning and
  evening.
• Can eat up to 220 different species of plants.
• Can live up to 5 days without water during
  droughts.
• Acacia spp. are especially favored, as are
  various species of Euphorbiaceae, including
  succulent forms with milky sap reputed to be
  poisonous.
• The prehensile upper lip is used to pull twigs
  into the mouth, which are then bitten off with
  the cheek teeth. They crop branch tips up to 0.4
  in (10 mm) in thickness and 49.8 in (100250 mm)
  in length. The horns may be used to bend or break
  stems to reach higher branches. Bark may also be
  stripped from certain trees.

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Diet Composition of Non-Captive Black
Rhinoceroses
Shrubs/Trees Herbs Grass Source
87-95 5-13 0 Joubert 1971
54-81 18-41 0 Mukinya 1977
81-94 6-19 0 Hall-martin 1982
47-93 5-51 0 Oloo 1994
93-95 3-5 1 Atkinson 1995
56-76 1-11 0-1 Pole 1995
69 31 0 Henning 2001
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Digestion

• Although all rhinos are hind-gut fermenters like
  rabbits and horses
• The fact that Black Rhinos are browsers is very
  important!
• Fundamental difference between fermentation
  characteristics of browse and grass
• Browse has a faster fermentation rate and soon
  reaches its maximum energy release
• Grass has a slow fermentation rate and still
  yields energy after a longer period of time

Clauss et al 2006
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Digestion

• White Rhino
• Squared off upper lip used to crop grass
• Grazes on savannah

• Black Rhino
• Prehensile upper lip for browsing
• Consumes bushes and shrubs in forest

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Comparative Anatomy Black Rhino

• The stomach is simple, and the cecum and colon in
  the hind-gut serve as the main sites of
  fermentation
• Short, wide colon
• Gradual transition from colon ascendens to
  transversum

Clauss et al 2003, 2005a
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Comparative Anatomy Horse

• Monogastric herbivore with extensive
  post-gastric fermentation
• Simple stomach incapable of utilization of
  forage-based (high fiber) diets
• Abrupt shift from colon ascendens to colon
  transversum

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Comparative Anatomy Sheep

• Ruminant herbivore with extensive pre-gastric
  fermentation
• Highly developed sacculated stomach capable of
  extensive and effective utilization of
  forage-based (high fiber) diets
• Extensive fermentation before primary sites of
  digestion and absorption

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Comparative Anatomy Capacities of GIT
Horse Sheep
450 80
8 8 17 1 2 20
27 14 41 90 6 1 3 30

BW, kg
Rumen, liters Omasum Abomasum Total stomach
Small intestine Cecum Large intestine Total GI
Black Rhino
1000
37 37
9 40 87 173
Clemens and Maloiy (1982)
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Comparative Anatomy length of GIT (in meters)
Horse Black Rhino
S. Intestine 26.7 (76) 12.0 (66)
Caecum Colon total 1.0 (3) 7.0 (20) 0.7 (5) 4.9 (28)
DFC total Total GIT 4.5 (13) 35.0 3.7 (20) 18.5
Frewein et al
(1999) Stevens/Hume (1995)

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Comparative Anatomy

• There are two ways to increase passage time in a
  tubular system to shorten the length or to
  increase diameter
• Body length does not always mean longer GIT
  (horse and tapir longer than an elephant!)
• Browsing Rhinos have a short and wide ceacum
  (46-91 cm) compared to horses (15-18 cm)

Clauss et al 2003
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Comparative Anatomy Average Mean Retention
Times
A longer retention time Slower passage rate
Clauss et al 2005a, Illius and Gordon 1995
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Clinical Study Digestion Coefficients for the
Black Rhinoceros (Clauss et al 2006)

• Objective of this study was to determine if
  horses were appropriate models for nutrient
  recommendations for the Black Rhinoceros
• Current practice applies the equine model to
  grazing hind gut fermenters such as the white
  rhinoceros
• It was unknown prior to this study if browsing
  behavior would reduce digestion coefficients,
  making the horse a poor model
• Did expect that browsers would display a shorter
  ingesta retention time and lower digestion
  coefficients as compared to grazers when on
  comparable diets

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Clinical Study Digestion Coefficients for the
Black Rhinoceros

• Materials and Methods

• Eight rhinos were used, selected from 3 zoos.
• Animals were kept separate during the trial to
  allow for collection of feces and recording of
  dietary intake.
• Protocols developed for domestic sheep (Mason and
  Frederickson 1979) were used to evaluate
  nutritional components including dry matter (DM)
  and Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF).
• Study compared the digestibility of rhinos to
  horses using previously published studies.
• Additional data on browsing and grazing rhinos
  was also included from published and unpublished
  studies.

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Clinical Study

• Materials and Methods
• The diets varied in total make-up but included
  some of the following
• lucerne hay, grass hay, browse, concentrates,
  fruits and vegetables
• Main concern was a crude fiber content that
  averaged 25 and crude protein averaging 15.

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Clinical Study Digestion Coefficients for the
Black Rhinoceros

• Results
• When compared with horses from previously
  conducted studies (on similar rations), the black
  rhinoceros achieved lower digestion coefficients

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Clauss Study Results Horses outperform Rhinos
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Clinical Study Digestion Coefficients for the
Black Rhinoceros

• Potential reasons
• Comparatively shorter ingesta retention times in
  the black rhino (Clauss et al 2005b)
• Among wild ruminant species, it has been
  demonstrated that browsing species achieve lower
  coefficients than grazing species (Iason and Van
  Weiren 1999)
• Hackenberger (1987) demonstrated that the African
  elephant which is thought to be adapted to a diet
  with more browse material than its Asian
  counterpart also displays shorter retention times
  and decreased digestion of grass hay

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Dont take our word for itBrowsers vs. Grazers
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Why?

• The digestive strategy of long retention times to
  increase digestion coefficients is an
  evolutionary adaptation one would expect in
  grazing species- whether hind gut or foregut
  fermenters
• Grass has a slow fermentative rate and still
  gives energy even after a long period of time

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The why, continued

• Shorter retention times are expected in browsing
  species
• browse has a faster fermentation rate and soon
  reaches its maximum energy release
• So if you gave a browsing rhino Alfalfa, youd
  expect that it wouldnt reach its full energy
  potential because its not fermented long enough.
  Youd also expect that hed want to eat a lot
  more.

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So, the Black Rhino comes to NUT 115 and eats
alfalfa pellets

• Real and Expected Digestibility order
• Sheep 63.7 DM/43.9 NDF
• Horse 58.6 DM/27.2 NDF
• Rhino 53 DM/26 NDF

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FYI More on the Vit E Question

• Problem Rhinoceros accumulate body stores of
  iron over their lifetime that may be associated
  with numerous maladies ie captive black
  rhinoceroses have a history of disease and death
  characterized by hemolytic anemia and
  mucocutaneous ulceration
• Current trends Iron and copper supplements have
  been routinely given to captive rhinos. In the
  absence of species specific data, nutrient levels
  are based on work performed with domestic
  livestock.
• Potential Causes Many nutrients listed as
  possible causes in the syndromes may be linked in
  some way to each other
• Specific nutrients of concern ferric iron
  antagonist to vitamin E, interactions between
  absorption of dietary iron and vitamin E, and
  linkages between copper and iron
  absorption/functioning.
• Wild Rhino Diet Natural browse of black
  rhinoceros contains secondary plant compounds
  including tannins that may decrease mineral
  absorption. It is possible that these chemicals
  may bind excess dietary iron in the natural diet.
  Commercial hays contain tannins, but at lower
  levels and are fed to captive rhinos (budget,
  absence of data, etc)
• Diets without tannins are hypothesized to cause
  increased iron absorption and an insufficient
  antioxidant status, and therefore to contribute
  to disease symptoms observed in captive black
  rhinos
• Current study at the Brookfield Zoo (Illinois)
  "Dietary Iron Absorption and the Role of Tannins
  in Eastern (Diceros bicornis michaeli) and
  Southern Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis minor), a
  Comparison"
• Website http//www.sosrhino.org/research/black_rh
  ino_nutrition2.php last acessed 3/13/06

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References

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  FLACH E.J BEHLERT O ORTMAN S STREICH W.J
  HUMMEL J HATT J.M (2006) Digestion coefficients
  achieved by the black rhinoceros (diceros
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  Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition
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• OFTEDAHL, O., BAER, D.J., AND ALLEN, M.E. (1996).
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• GHEBREMESKEL, K.WILLIAMS, G. BRETT, R.A.
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•  
• HOFMANN, R.R. (1989) Evolutionary steps of
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• VAN SOEST, P (1994) Nutritional ecology of the
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