Nutritional requirements
When considering a captive diet, it is important to consider the nutritional requirements of the species in question. Yet again, little is known about the specific nutritional needs of okapi, though using what research has been done and looking to a generic ruminant model where required, it is possible to make general recommendations. It is important to note that these are only approximate guidelines, which are more than likely inaccurate in some way due to lack of knowledge.
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Carbohydrates: Okapi require the following quantities of carbohydrates in their diet:
Lipids: Okapi require no more than 5% lipid in their captive diet. Ruminants generally have a low requirement for dietary lipids; a diet higher than 5% lipid reduces the gut microfloras’ ability to digest fibre (Cheeke and Dierenfeld 2010b).
Water: Water should be offered on an ad libitum basis (Crissey et al. 2001); ruminants have a high water requirement due to their digestive strategy (Cheeke and Dierenfeld 2010a).
Summary including micronutrients: Below in Table 1 is a summary of the nutritional requirements of okapi, including micronutrients.The recommendations for the following micronutrient levels are made using data from other non-domestic ruminant species that appear to be adequate (Crissey et al. 2001).
Table 1. Suggested dietary nutritional composition for a captive okapi diet. Adapted from Crissey et al. (2001) using Huisman et al. (2008).
- NDF (Neutral Detergent Fibre): Okapi require 20-35% NDF in their captive diet (Crissey et al. 2001). NDF is the structural parts of a plant (such as the cell wall), and provides bulk to the diet (UNL Beef 2013).
- ADF (Acid Detergent Fibre): Okapi require 13-18% ADF in their captive diet (Crissey et al. 2001). ADF is the least digestible parts of a plant cell, including cellulose and lignin (UNLBeef 2013).
- NFC (Non Fibre Carbohydrates): Okapi require NFC 36-54% NFC in their captive diet (Huisman et al. 2008). NFC are the highly digestible parts of a part, including starches, sugars and pectin, which provide high levels of energy (Dupchak 2014).The feeding of highly digestible NFC such as fruits and vegetables, is believed to be a contributing factor in the development of rumen disorders, for instance acidosis, and hoof problems such as laminitis (Huisman et al. 2008).
Lipids: Okapi require no more than 5% lipid in their captive diet. Ruminants generally have a low requirement for dietary lipids; a diet higher than 5% lipid reduces the gut microfloras’ ability to digest fibre (Cheeke and Dierenfeld 2010b).
Water: Water should be offered on an ad libitum basis (Crissey et al. 2001); ruminants have a high water requirement due to their digestive strategy (Cheeke and Dierenfeld 2010a).
Summary including micronutrients: Below in Table 1 is a summary of the nutritional requirements of okapi, including micronutrients.The recommendations for the following micronutrient levels are made using data from other non-domestic ruminant species that appear to be adequate (Crissey et al. 2001).
Table 1. Suggested dietary nutritional composition for a captive okapi diet. Adapted from Crissey et al. (2001) using Huisman et al. (2008).