The Wilds getting a boost with animal food tree trimming donations from AEP Ohio

CUMBERLAND — A new partnership between The Wilds and AEP Ohio will help keep hungry animals fed at the safari park.

The forestry department at AEP Ohio is donating a truckload of branches a month to the Cumberland conservation center through the new Trim to Treat program. It's in an effort to stock up the park's feed supply on a regular basis.

It's never been an issue to ensure animals don't go hungry, but it will free up a lot of the park's manpower to focus more on animals' well-being, said Jan Ramer, senior vice president for animal care and conservation for The Wilds and Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

Instead of spending time collecting tree trimmings for browse — leaves, shoots and twigs that animals can eat — staff will have more opportunities to more attentively tend to the animals.

That may mean doing positive reinforcement training, enrichment exercises, or giving stalls a deep clean to make them feel more comfortable.

"It just gives us more time to do these special things," Ramer said.

AEP Ohio's forestry crews routinely checks power lines for potential damage due to low-hanging branches. Then, the browse are sorted out to match an approved list of non-toxic plants, and delivered to The Wilds by truck.

The browse are sourced from Zanesville and Cambridge. They would've otherwise been processed into mulch without the partnership.

"We came up with a great process," AEP Ohio Forestry Manager Dale Hopkins said, adding the company strives to be environmentally conscious. "This is just another step, bringing (the browse) out here to benefit the animal."

The animals can eat browse from ash, crabapple, elm, hackberry, mulberry, pear, sycamore and willow trees.

So far, AEP Ohio has delivered 14 truckloads of browse to The Wilds.

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This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: AEP Ohio donating branches for animal feed at The Wilds