Can studying the diets of deer/moose/elk [or other herbivores, like parrots] be a guide to the optimal diet for vegetarians?

[Alex K Chen]

Some of this can also be related to xenohormesis theory [do animals that eat stressed plants also absorb some of the stress resistance?]

I'm at least somewhat more curious/interested. Are there foods deer can handle that humans cannot? Deer have stomachs less complex than cows or most other ruminants. But are there foods toxic to humans that aren't toxic to deer?

https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/what-do-deer-eat/

https://www.msudeer.msstate.edu/deer-diet.php

As someone who knows that eating mostly salads is a "good thing", I'm looking for the closest wild animal analogue to this. Parrots eat more calorie-dense nuts/fruits (though wild parrot diets are still way healthier than standard American diets)

I know that Alan A. Cohen once did his thesis on antioxidant concentrations of birds [though it's hard to find any correlation between lifespan and total antioxidant concentration in birds mostly because over evolutionary timescales, endogenous and exogenous levels of antioxidants/oxidative stress co-adapt to each other]

Edited September 17, 2023 by InquilineKea

[mccoy]

On 9/17/2023 at 7:34 PM, InquilineKea said:

As someone who knows that eating mostly salads is a "good thing", I'm looking for the closest wild animal analogue to this.

Gorillas? Especially mountain gorillas.

https://seaworld.org/animals/all-about/gorilla/diet/

Quote

Food Preferences & Resources

The composition of the gorilla's diet varies by subspecies and seasonality.

• Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla😞 This subspecies consumes parts of at least 97 plant species. About 67% of their diet is fruit, 17% is leaves, seeds and stems and 3% is termites and caterpillars.
• Eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri😞 This subspecies consumes parts of at least 104 plant species.
• Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei😞 This subspecies consumes parts of at least 142 plant species and only 3 types of fruit (there is hardly any fruit available due to the high altitude). About 86% of their diet is leaves, shoots, and stems, 7% is roots, 3% is flowers, 2% is fruit, and 2% ants, snails, and grubs.
• Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli😞 This subspecies is not as well studied as the other subspecies. However their diet has been studied through their fecal matter and is known to include fruit, leaves, stems, piths, and some invertebrates.
• Gorillas are able to survive on vegetation such as leaves, stems, roots, vines, herbs, trees, and grasses but such vegetation has relatively low nutritional quality. Therefore, they must consume a larger quantity, but it is available year-round.

 

Food Intake

An adult male gorilla may consume more than 18 kg (40 lbs.) of vegetation per day.

Gorillas rarely drink in the wild because they consume succulent vegetation that is comprised of almost half water as well as morning dew.

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by mccoy