Comparative Use of Four Different Marker Systems for the Estimation of Digestibility and Low Food Intake in a Group of Captive Giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis)
In a feeding trial with four captive giraffes, nutrient digestibility was determined using four different marker systems. Although cobalt-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid proved to have no utility as a digestibility marker in this study, reasonable values could be obtained using C36 n-alkane, acid detergent lignin, and acid insoluble ash as markers. A comparison of methods and literature data suggests that the values derived from the C36 n-alkane assay are the most reliable absolute values. Apparent digestibility ranges thus determined were 63.5–74.3% for