Digestive responses of wapiti Cervus elaphus canadensis to seasonal forages

Authors tested the hypothesis that seasonal differences in passage rate and digestibility of native forage in wapiti Cervus elaphus canadensis Erxleben, 1777 were due to seasonal appetence and digestive adaptation as well as plant phenology and composition. To this end, we compared digestive characteristics of seasonal pasture with those of a standard alfalfa-barley pellet fed to wapiti hinds throughout the year.