Meals for mammals

Four species of mammals live in the Biodôme’s Laurentian Forest.

Canadian lynx

Lynx canadensis

American porcupine

Erethizon dorsatum

Beaver

Castor canadensis

River otter

Lutra canadensis

Animal kitchen

Animals in captivity need to be fed a balanced diet that’s as close as possible to what and how they eat in the wild.

Canadian lynx

En milieu naturel, le menu du lynx est composé à 75 % de lièvres. En captivité, il est beaucoup plus simple de le nourrir avec des rats morts.

A meal for the lynxes

1.1 kg horsemeat
2 half beef shank bones (on Wednesday)
2 rats (2 times a week)
8 theet diet biscuits (3 times a week)

NB: The menus are for two animals.

American porcupine

Animals in captivity sometimes add variety to their diets by using resources in their new habitat, like plants growing on top of rocks.

A meal for the porcupines

10 spinach leaves, 6 lettuce leaves, 1 carrot, 1 stick celery, 2 apples
2 half primate biscuits
Rabbit chow (all they can eat)
Vitamins and calcium
Salt block

Beaver

In the wild, beavers, which are exclusively herbivorous, feed mainly on tree bark, leaves and buds.
In captivity, to prevent them from destroying their habitat, we give them aspen branches to gnaw on.

A meal for the beavers

2 lettuce leaves, 4 carrots, 2 half sticks celery, 8 spinach leaves, 8 apples
Rabbit chow (all they can eat)
Vitamins and calcium
Aspen branches

River otter

In the wild, otters feed mostly underwater. They eat fish, shellfish, insects, crayfish and frogs.
At the Biodôme, we don’t give them live prey. Instead, to keep them happy and simulate the way they would hunt for food in the wild, we give the otters a large block of ice filled with chunks of fish.

A meal for the otters

2 minnows, herrings or sardines (3 times a week)
1.2 kg horsemeat
2 hard-boiled eggs (2 times a week)
10 theet diet biscuits (3 times a week)

For more information:
Descriptive records