Nutrition
The Toledo Zoo's Commissary department is responsible for ordering, preparing, and distributing food to all of the animals at The Toledo Zoo.

In one year they will deliver the following quantities of food:

• 1,000 bushels of fruit and veggies
• 30,000 heads of lettuce
• 1 half ton (1,000 pounds) of grapes
• 2.25 tons of celery
• 5 tons of carrots
• 5 tons of monkey chow
• 8 tons of bird food
• 12 tons of carnivore diet
• Over 35 tons of fish

Does the Zoo accept food donations for the animals?
Any organizations or companies that would like to offer bulk food donations to The Toledo Zoo should contact the Commissary Department at (419) 385-5721, ext. 2123.

Can visitors feed the animals?
No. Our animals have specific diets that are nutritionally analyzed. Visitors should never throw human food or anything else into exhibits.

Veterinary Services
The Toledo Zoo's Veterinary Department is responsible for treating animals that become ill or injured. Sometimes animals can be treated in their exhibits or holding areas, and sometimes they are brought to the Zoo's animal hospital where they receive excellent care.

Here are some of the responsibilities of the Veterinary staff:

• Preventive Medicine
• Quarantine and Preshipment Testing
• Medical and Surgical Cases
• Nutrition Oversight & Management
• Necropsies
• Oversee Browse Program & Pest Management
• Nuisance Animal Control (Cats, Raccoons)
• Animal Training for Medical Procedures
• Zoonosis Liaison
• Training of Veterinary and Technician Students
• Input on Exhibit Design
• Correspondence, Communication, & Meetings
• Publications, Presentations, and Tours
• Paperwork (Medical records, transfers, protocols, etc)

Below are the numbers from just one year of activity in the Veterinary Department:

• 168 Mammal Exams/Procedures
• 493 Avian Exams/Procedures
• 121 Reptile Exams/Procedures
• 72 Amphibian Exams/Procedures
• 12 Piscine Exams/Procedures
• 360 Anesthesias
• 30 Biopsies
• 2200 Prescriptions Written
• 396 Necropsies
• 282 Avian and Reptile CBCs
• 1700 Fecal Tests

How do you do that?
The Toledo Zoo has several employees who are involved in training animals. The training at the Zoo is not for entertainment; it is for the animals' well-being. Animals are taught behavior patterns that might help them at feeding time, but also so that they can be inspected or even treated inside of their exhibit.

The cheetah pictured above was being trained to line up near the chain link mesh so the staff could inject her in the hip. The training involved introducing a second target at her hip where she was rewarded for allowing us to touch her hip with the pole. We then brought the hip target closer to the mesh.  She learned to move her hip toward the target pole and little by little we were able to encourage her to lie next to the fence so that we could vaccinate her.