With a generous gift from the Daniel F and Ada L. Rice Foundation,
the Program in Nutrition was created in 2002 to focus the zoo’s
research in nutrition.
Nutrition is the science of providing living things with the vitamins,
minerals, proteins, and fats they need to grow and live healthy
lives. Many of these nutrients cannot be manufactured by
the body and must be obtained through the diet. Lincoln Park
Zoo’s research in nutrition is focused on improving the diets
and health of animals within our collection, as well as advancing
our understanding of the nutritional needs of exotic species. This
includes identifying circulating nutrient concentrations of vitamins,
minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, and lipoproteins in free-ranging
and captive species for use in evaluating the nutritional status
of the animals living in zoos.
Mission