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 month our animals consume:

• 139 lbs. of eggs
• 1,420 lbs. of feline carnivore diet
• 1,567 bales of hay
• 1,980,000 crickets
• 1,990 lbs. of fruit
• 6,892 lbs. of fish
• 8,860 lbs. of veggies
• 553,000 mealworms

Our veterinary staff plays many roles in animal care, including preventative health, emergency care, diet assessment, geriatric care and neonatal medicine. Their day-to-day jobs include exams for each individual animal, emergency interventions, performing blood tests and fecal exams, weight management assessments and more.

In one year our vet staff performs:

• 1,100+ exams
• 897 fecal tests
• 400 blood tests
• 570 radiographs

The Zoo’s animal welfare and enrichment program is comparable to a company’s wellness program. It provides guidelines for generating the best health readings for each of our resident species. Beyond that, it looks at each species and even individual animal’s physical fitness, mental state, overall health and ability to “be the species” or a gorilla’s ability to simply be a gorilla.

Sometimes, old recyclable items can be used to keep our animals entertained and to bring out their natural behaviors such as hunting and playing. The Zoo will recycle many common items and place them in the exhibit. Common items used for enrichment include:

• Shredded office paper for bedding
• Cardboard boxes
• Fire hose
• Plastic buckets, yogurt cups
• 55 gallon barrels
• Cardboard tubes/Carpet tubes
• Perfumes and colognes
• Sheets and towels for orangutan bedding
• Phone books
• Feed bags
• Oatmeal canisters