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© 2006 The American Society for Nutrition J. Nutr. 136:2017S-2020S, July 2006

Supplement: The WALTHAM International Sciences Symposia Innovations in Companion Animal Nutrition: Poster Presentations

Macromineral Absorption in the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) Compared with the Domestic Horse1–3,

Marcus Clauss*,4, Johanna C. Castell{dagger}, Ellen Kienzle{dagger}, Peter Schramel**, Ellen S. Dierenfeld{ddagger}, Edmund J. Flach{dagger}{dagger}, Olaf Behlert#, Jean-Michel Hatt*, W. Jürgen Streich§ and Jürgen Hummel#,§§

* Division of Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Switzerland; {dagger} Institute of Animal Physiology, Physiological Chemistry and Animal Nutrition, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Oberschleissheim, Germany; ** GSF National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute for Ecological Chemistry, Neuherberg, Germany; {ddagger} Saint Louis Zoo, St. Louis, MO; {dagger}{dagger} Zoological Society of London, Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, Dunstable, UK; # Zoological Garden of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; § Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Berlin, Germany; and §§ Institute of Animal Sciences, Department of Nutrition, University of Bonn, Germany

4 To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mclauss{at}vetclinics.unizh.ch.

KEY WORDS: • black rhinoceros • Diceros bicornis • horse • Equus caballus • sodium • potassium • magnesium • calcium • phosphorus • absorption

There has been recent interest in the mineral status of free-ranging and captive rhinoceroses (1). Zoo diets for rhinoceroses and elephants deficient in different minerals have been recorded (2,3). Because the horse is usually considered the model animal for designing rhino diets (4), we wanted to generate data on the absorption of minerals in a rhino species, to facilitate a comparison with published data for domestic horses, and thus test the hypothesis that rhino mineral absorption resembles that of the horse.


   MATERIALS AND METHODS
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 MATERIALS AND METHODS
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 LITERATURE CITED
 
Feeding trials were performed with 8 black rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis) from 3 zoological institutions. Ethical treatment of the animals was guaranteed in that during the trial, the usual zoo husbandry routine for these animals was applied. Animals were kept individually, food intake was recorded by weighing offered feeds and leftovers for 7 d, and fecal excretion by total collection for 5 d. Three to 5 different zoo rations, consisting of varying proportions of roughage, concentrates, and in some cases browse material, were fed (total n of trials = 32). Adaptation periods for new diets lasted at least a month. The feeding trials have been described in more detail recently (5). Representative samples of feeds and feces were analyzed for mineral content (Ca, P, Mg, Na, K). All analyses were run in duplicate. To 0.5 g of sample, 5 ml of 65% HNO3 was added for wet ashing (1200 mega High Performance Microwave, MLS, Milestone). Mineral analysis was performed by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICPES, JY66, Jobin Yvon). Because the results for Na were unexpected, analyses were repeated by flame photometry (EFOX 5053, Eppendorf). There was no difference between results generated by the 2 methods. Here, therefore, only ICPES results are given. Additional data for black rhinos were available from three unpublished studies (D. Paros and E. S. Dierenfeld, n = 2; T. Woodfine and E. S. Dierenfeld, n = 2; T. Froeschle and M. Clauss, n = 14; not all minerals analyzed in all cases). Apparent absorption (aA) of minerals was calculated using the formula aA [%] = (mineral ingested [g]– mineral excreted [g])/mineral ingested [g] x 100. Mineral content was plotted against absorbable mineral content in 100 g DM, and differences in the resulting regressions from those derived from literature data on domestic horses (6–44) as well as of calculated mean aA coefficients were tested by analysis of covariance (45) and U-test, respectively, using the SPSS 12.0 statistical package (SPSS Inc.). The regression slope (a) corresponds to the "true" absorption coefficient, and the negative intercept (b) to the endogenous fecal losses (EFL) (46). Significance level was set at P < 0.05.


   RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
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 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
LITERATURE CITED
 
Dietary mineral contents, aA coefficients, and the regression equations are summarized in Table 1; the respective data plots are depicted in Figure 1. The aA coefficients differed for all minerals. Black rhinos had a significantly higher "true" absorption of Ca and Mg. EFL of P were significantly lower in black rhinos (difference: 0.09 g/100 g DM). Regardless of a similar "true" absorption efficiency for Na, black rhinos had significantly higher Na EFL (difference: 0.16 g/100 g DM). K gave a similar pattern as Na, but in this case, the difference of 0.12 between the slopes was significant, and therefore, intercepts could not be compared.


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  		TABLE 1 Mineral absorption characteristics in domestic horses (E. caballus) and black rhinoceroses (D. bicornis)

 

Figure 1
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  		FIGURE 1  Correlations between the mineral content and the absorbable mineral content (g/100 g dry matter) in horses (Equus caballus) and black rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis) for Ca (A), P (B), Mg (C), Na (D), and K (E). For significant differences between the species, see Table 1.

 
These data suggest that differences in mineral absorption exist between species, even in the face of a similar digestive anatomy (47). For the management of captive rhinos, the results imply that diets designed according to horse requirements should be adequate, with the exception of Na. Therefore, salt licks should be provided to captive rhinos. Na is recognized as a limiting factor for populations of free-ranging herbivores, and natural Na lick use has been observed in many wild herbivore species (48–50). In terms of ecophysiology, the interesting question arises whether the high endogenous fecal Na losses of black rhinos are species-specific or represent an effect of increasing body size. If fecal Na excretion is considered an effect of fecal bulk (46,51), then species with generally lower apparent digestion coefficients and hence more fecal excretion, such as elephants or black rhinos as compared with white and Indian rhinos or horses (5,52,53), or browsing as compared with grazing ruminants (54), could be hypothesized to have higher Na EFL. In order to answer this question, comparable data from other wildlife species would be warranted.


   FOOTNOTES
 
1 Published in a supplement to The Journal of Nutrition. Presented as part of The WALTHAM International Nutritional Sciences Symposium: Innovations in Companion Animal Nutrition held in Washington, DC, September 15–18, 2005. This conference was supported by The WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition and organized in collaboration with the University of California, Davis, and Cornell University. This publication was supported by The WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition. Guest editors for this symposium were D'Ann Finley, Francis A. Kallfelz, James G. Morris, and Quinton R. Rogers. Guest editor disclosure: expenses for the editors to travel to the symposium and honoraria were paid by The WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition. Back

2 Author disclosure: no relationships to disclose. Back

3 This study was funded by grants of the International Rhino Foundation/SOS Rhino to M.C. and E.S.D. Back


   LITERATURE CITED
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 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 LITERATURE CITED
 

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