Digesta passage in nondomestic ruminants: Separation mechanisms in 'moose-type' and 'cattle-type' species, and seemingly atypical browsers.

Ruminants have been classified as having a 'moose-type' or 'cattle-type' digestive physiology. 'Cattle-type' ruminants have a clear difference in the mean retention time (MRT) of fluid vs. small particles in the reticulorumen (RR), with a high 'selectivity factor' (SF = MRT/ MRT, >1.

Short-term digestible energy intake in captive moose (Alces alces) on different diets.

Moose (Alces alces) are regularly described as problematic animals in captivity, mainly because of their particular digestive physiology and resulting feeding demands. According to the literature, moose regularly reject non-browse forages offered in captivity, which may indirectly lead to an overproportional ingestion of easily digestible feeds and thus chronic acidosis, which may in turn be the cause of their low life expectancy in captivity. By feeding experiments in four animals, this study aimed at testing whether maintaining moose on roughage-only diets appears feasible.