New deal will have Brevard Zoo giraffes feasting on county park plants. Here’s how it works

Brevard County commissioners and the Brevard Zoo have agreed to a framework allowing the zoo to harvest selected vegetation from county parks and Environmentally Endangered Lands for its giraffes and other animals.Under a memorandum of understanding between the county’s Parks and Recreation Department and the East Coast Zoological Society of Florida, the zoo would selectively prune and collect branches and other approved “browse.” The agreement defines browse as leaves, shrubs or twigs animals can eat or use for enrichment; full tree removal would be allowed only when authorized by the county.The approved plant list includes willow, Brazilian pepper, wax myrtle, swamp bay, grapevine, sweet gum, hackberry and limited amounts of oak. The county and zoo may update the list as needed.A zoo representative who oversees the Africa area and its large animals, told commissioners that giraffes, okapi, tapirs, deer, primates and other zoo residents need natural browse as part of their diets. She