How to Hand-Feed Zoo Animals

Feed the animals at a petting zoo.

If your zoo trip includes a stop at the petting zoo, get ready to offer a snack to the animals. Who can resist the twitching nose of a baby goat or the protruding tongue of a calf? Hand-feeding animals that think of you as a stranger requires patience and a few safety precautions. You never know when a curious nibble may turn into a bite. Ask a zoo employee for a feeding pan or hand feed the zoo animals from your palm.

Things You'll Need

• Shallow pan
• Animal feed
• Hand sanitizing gel

Instructions

Using Your Hand

1. Extend your hand in front of you with a flat palm facing the sky.

2. Place just enough zoo-approved food in your hand to cover half of your palm.

3. Move your hand slowly toward the animal, keeping your fingers straight and palm flat.

4. Allow the animal to lick the food pieces from your hand while keeping your hand still.

5. Remove your hand from the animal's enclosure after it finishes the food.

6. Wash your hands with sanitizing gel or warm soapy water.

Using a Pan

1. Place zoo-approved feed in a shallow pie-type pan with the guidance of a zoo employee.

2. Hold the pan securely with two hands.

3. Lower the pan into the animal's enclosure and place the pan on the ground to let the animal eat.

4. Wash your hands with warm soap and water, or use alcohol-based hand sanitizing gel.

Tips & Warnings

• Zookeepers don't feeds animals at the zoo by hand. Food items get strewn about the animal's enclosure to entice the creature to forage for food, as if the animal were in the wild, according to experts at the Honolulu Zoo.

• Do not feed zoo animals treats enjoyed by humans. Popcorn, candy and soda can make animals ill.

• Avoid kissing zoo animals while hand feeding them.

References

• Smithsonian.com; Feeding the Animals at the National Zoo; Joseph Caputo; April 2009
• Honolulu Zoo; The Honolulu Zoo's Animal Environmental Enrichment Program; Kathy Carlstead, Ph.D., 2008
• KeepKidsHealthy.com: Petting Zoo Safety