foods for elephants
The elephant staff also visually inspects the hay before feeding it for things like odor, foreign material, sun damage, and maturity. The remainder of the elephantsâ diet is made up of produce, beet pulp, Vitamin E, browse, and supplements. Produce: The elephants receive carrots, sweet potatoes, oranges and apples as part of their daily diet. They also eat novel produce such as pineapple, onions or papaya, ordered weekly as enrichment. Just like people, they have favorite fruits and vegetables and tend to prefer the sweet fruits to the green vegetables.
Elephants are herbivores,, spending 16 hours a day collecting plant food. Their diet is at least 50% grasses, supplemented with leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots, and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of what they eat, they have to make up for their digestive system's lack of efficiency in volume.