# Do zoos ever live feed their predators? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681 "2021-11-02T15:42:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/22 "2021-11-02T19:59:05Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > But don’t they feed live rats to snakes? No, as the article in **Telemark’s** post stated. One keeper said, “We don’t even feed our snakes live mice.” ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/23 "2021-11-02T20:02:17Z")
So no zoos feed snakes live rodents? Not even zoos in the middle east or South America. I highly doubt that. I saw it on the Life of Pi, goat fed to a tiger and then the tiger sailed on a lifeboat! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/24 "2021-11-02T20:10:00Z")
20 years ago or so, we visited the [International Wolf Center](https://wolf.org/), in Ely, MN; as part of the center, they have a large outdoor enclosure, where a small pack of wolves lives. The primary way that they feed the wolf pack is by bringing in a deer carcass every Saturday evening; the deer are typically roadkilled animals, donated by the Minnesota State Patrol, which finds them on the side of the road. One can attend the Saturday evening “dinner” – the center has a big theater, with windows that look out over the wolves’ enclosure; the staff places the deer carcass near the windows, and the wolves come out and start to pull apart and eat it. When we were there, the staff described that eating a large meal like that, and then not eating another big meal for days, was pretty typical for wild wolves; they also noted that the center’s wolves commonly hunted for small animals (chipmunks, mice, etc.) that found their way into the enclosure, which kind of served as between-meal snacks. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/25 "2021-11-02T20:10:39Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > So no zoos feed snakes live rodents? Not even zoos in the middle east or South America. I highly doubt that. > **[Zoos Fake Hunts to Satisfy Predators' Killer Instincts](https://www.livescience.com/33415-zoos-fake-hunts-satisfy-predators-killer-instincts.html)** > > Zookeepers must strive to satisfy their predators' natural urges and dietary needs within their limited confines. > [@](#): > > As Andrew Circo of the San Diego Zoo told the British newspaper the Guardian in 2008… “you do not want to take a chance that an injury could lead to other health complications. Not even our snakes get live mice.” I didn’t say no zoos feed live mice to snakes. Some snakes won’t accept dead prey. But the majority of zoos don’t want their predators injured by their prey, so they’ll stick with humanely euthanized frozen mice. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/26 "2021-11-02T20:11:06Z")
Obviously saucywench’s language is unacceptable. A suspension has been issued. RickJay Moderator ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/27 "2021-11-02T21:28:59Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Mostly the zoos have exotics. At the zoo in St Martin (destroyed by Irma, never rebuilt) the raccoons were a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/28 "2021-11-02T21:32:50Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > humanely euthanized frozen mice. Understand that cervicocephalic luxation is considered humane by the authorities who govern such things. I’ve done this on mice to be fed to snakes, but I think many observers would question the “humanely euthanized” part. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/29 "2021-11-02T22:16:07Z")
We went to the Vilas Zoo in Madison once and a badger had clearly just killed a wild duck that had stupidly flown into the pen. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/30 "2021-11-02T22:18:51Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > We went to the Vilas Zoo in Madison once and a badger had clearly just killed a wild duck that had stupidly flown into the pen There’s this video (warning: a predator catches a squirrel and eats it, don’t watch if squeamish) where a father and son watch a leopard at the zoo catch a squirrel. The dad is freaking out, the kid is just staring - then at the end he turns around, grins, and says “Squirrel!” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TrezLkmR2Xc/hqdefault.jpg "Snow leopard surprise attacks a squirrel") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrezLkmR2Xc) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/31 "2021-11-02T22:25:50Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > > [@cochrane](#): > > > > humanely euthanized frozen mice. > > Understand that cervicocephalic luxation is considered humane by the authorities who govern such things. I’ve done this on mice to be fed to snakes, but I think many observers would question the “humanely euthanized” part. Google doesn’t help me here. I assumed zoos do what Youtuber Shawn Woods does with house mice and use carbon dioxide to asphyxiate them. I don’t know if zoos practice this or how they dispatch their rodents, but I’m willing to stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/32 "2021-11-02T22:36:36Z")
All research facilities I’ve had experience with as well as one zoo use cervical luxation. It’s cheap, easy, effective. [Rodent euthanasia practices.](https://research.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/GUIDELINE_04-Use_of_Cervical_Dislocation_for_Rodent_Euthanasia_2020_1207.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/33 "2021-11-02T22:42:30Z")
When I was in charge of the live animals at a small college, we did feed live mice to the snakes. But that was a looooooong time ago. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2021, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/34 "2021-11-03T00:08:52Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > There’s this video (warning: a predator catches a squirrel and eats it, don’t watch if squeamish) where a father and son watch a leopard at the zoo catch a squirrel. Here’s one where the victim seems to have made it but sort of similar. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VX-uEFkO2HI/maxresdefault.jpg "Eagle attacks bird at Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney, Australia") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX-uEFkO2HI) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/35 "2021-11-03T00:25:03Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > All research facilities I’ve had experience with as well as one zoo use cervical luxation. It’s cheap, easy, effective. > > [Rodent euthanasia practices.](https://research.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/GUIDELINE_04-Use_of_Cervical_Dislocation_for_Rodent_Euthanasia_2020_1207.pdf) OK, I was going to ask “what does ‘cervical luxation’ mean?” but I think I got the idea from your link. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/36 "2021-11-04T04:54:33Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > use carbon dioxide to asphyxiate them I watched some hamsters killed with carbon dioxide, once. That was not humane. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/37 "2021-11-04T13:32:17Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I watched some hamsters killed with carbon dioxide, once. That was not humane. Indeed. A modest uptick of CO2 concentration in your lungs is the thing that makes you desperate to breathe after you’ve been holding your breath for a while. A high concentration HURTS. Anyone in doubt can see for themselves by sealing their lips on a half-emptied 2-liter soda bottle and inhaling deeply; there’s a moderately high concentration of CO2 in the bottle at that point, and as soon as you inhale you’ll be desperate for fresh air. Still not convinced? Put some dry ice in a plastic bag, squeeze out the air, and let the CO2 gas build up. Inhale gently from the bag; you probably won’t be able to draw a full breath before you start coughing and choking because you’ll be in agony. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/38 "2021-11-04T13:40:46Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > OK, I was going to ask “what does ‘cervical luxation’ mean?” but I think I got the idea from your link. Thanks. So if my Chiropractor offers this service, I should decline? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/39 "2021-11-04T14:08:32Z")
Cervical luxation and decapitation are both quick and relatively humane. If you can anesthetize the animal first, all the better. (I worked in a lab where i had to kill a lot of mice. I etherized them and then decapitated them with a little rodent guillotine. It wasn’t pleasant, but i never felt i was torturing the animals. The poor hamsters were tortured, and just watching it was horrible.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/40 "2021-11-04T14:10:23Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I watched some hamsters killed with carbon dioxide, once. That was not humane Want to talk “not humane”? Due to COVID, there was/is the need to depopulate large poultry or swine buildings. Someone came up with VSD ((Ventilation Shut Down) where basically ventilation is turned off, body heat +/- additional heat then leads to the animals dying of hyperthermia. From [here](https://www.vavsd.org/about): > **Ventilation Shutdown (VSD/VSD+) is exactly what it says** : The pig or chicken barn is closed, all air inlets and ventilation sealed, and fans turned off. Heaters, steam, and/or gas are turned on. Body heat from the animals, combined with any added heat, raises the temperature in the house until the pigs or chickens die from hyperthermia (overheating) or suffocation from built-up gases. This typically takes hours, according to all published research. > All forms of Ventilation Shutdown were designed to be used only in severe life-threatening infectious or zoonotic disease outbreaks. It was never intended as a cost-saving method of depopulation. Livestock producers are using the AVMA Depopulation Guidelines and veterinary approval as justification for using VSD+ in situations that do not involve infections or zoonosis. The AVMA Depopulation Guidelines list several other preferred depopulation methods and the AASV lists 10 specific depopulation techniques for pigs. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681/41 "2021-11-04T14:12:17Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > if my Chiropractor offers this service, I should decline? [Deaths after chiropractic: a review of published cases](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20642715/) It happens! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-zoos-ever-live-feed-their-predators/953681.md?page=3)