Digestibility of timothy hay by African elephants

Two juvenile, female African elephants ( Loxodonta africana ) were used in summer and winter trials to determine the apparent digestibility of timothy ( Phleum pratense ) hay. After 12–14 days of dietary adjustment, dry matter intake and fecal excretion were quantitatively measured for 7 days. Dry matter of timothy hay contained 8.6 and 7.7% crude protein, 57.3 and 44.0% acid detergent fiber, and 6.5 and 6.4% ash during the summer and winter trials, respectively. Estimates of apparent digestibility during summer and winter, respectively, were 39 and 35% for dry matter, 43 and 32% for gross energy (GE), 45 and 30% for crude protein (CP), and 36 and 24% for acid detergent fiber (ADF). While GE and CP digestibility estimates tended ( P < .09) to be greater in the summer trial, only the digestibility of ADF was different ( P < .05) between summer and winter. Dry matter intake was 1.4–1.6% of body weight (BW), providing an average of 144 kcal of digestible energy per kg BW 0.75 . This value is similar to that (155 kcal per kg BW 0.75 ) used for estimating digestible energy requirements for maintenance of light‐breed horses.