Scouring San Diego for the Perfect Snacks : Zoo Feeding Branches Out Into Neighborhood

Morning motorists driving along California 52 near the Interstate 805 interchange probably have mistaken Al Mejia for a convict paying his debt to society. Dressed in an orange vest and hat, Mejia works along the roadside, pruning small green trees and throwing the branches into his truck.

But Mejia isn’t a convict, and the reason he spends his days on the highway’s shoulder stands about 20 feet tall and has four legs, spots and a ravenous appetite.

Mejia works for the San Diego Zoo, and it’s his job to get leafy acacia tree branches to hungry giraffes at the zoo before their morning feeding.

As unorthodox as it seems, Mejia’s full-time job is scouring the roadside along California 52 and nearby neighborhoods for thick, leafy trees like the acacia to supplement the diets of more than 100 different kinds of zoo animals.

Called the Browse Program by zoo officials, the foliage collected by Mejia during his early-morning harvests is also being used more frequently by zoo keepers to brighten the often sterile environment that can exist in the zoo.

“I think we understand animals better” than we used to, said Chuck Coburn, a horticulturist at the zoo who oversees the program.

“Like humans, animals respond better when they are in a comfortable environment,” he said. Some of the leaves and branches obtained in and around the zoo are used to create more lifelike surroundings for the animals.

In one case, Coburn said, an Asian Argus pheasant wasn’t reproducing until zoo keepers determined that it needed an area in its cage to act out a mating ritual.

Using leafy foliage, zoo workers set up a stage-like nest similar to one the bird would have used in the wild.

“It worked right away. . . . It made a difference,” Coburn said. The bird successfully mated.

Zoo officials began the browse effort informally about 10 years ago, and it slowly has grown into a formal program, Coburn said.

Along with the picking of acacia from California 52 and parts of California 163 and I-805--an effort approved by the California Department of Transportation--there are equally approved forays into neighborhoods around the zoo.

Mejia said he likes to stay within a three-mile radius of the zoo and will often ask residents if he can pick their eugenia bushes, used as lawn dividers by man and as between-meal snacks by gorillas and other primates.

Additional food is collected from the zoo’s two-acre browse farm near Miramar Naval Air Station, where Mejia gathers acacia and eucalyptus leaves, the primary food for koalas.

Dan Simpson, who also works in the zoo’s horticulture department, said the project is called Browse Program because the shrubs and leaves are hung in animal compounds to induce movement by the animals.

“They will walk around and browse like a shopper would . . . (The food collected by Mejia) is a generic sort of recreation feeding used predominantly to generate action from the animals,” Simpson said.

“A lot of these animals are real big, and it’s not like you can take your dog out and walk it . . . (The food) keeps them busy and gets them to move around.”

Mejia, who rides a bicycle eight miles to work every morning, said he likes the idea of doing something that helps the animals, although he said his job prevents him from seeing them that often.

“My job is real hectic,” said the 25-year-old Lemon Grove resident, who sometimes puts in 48-hour weeks and is assisted in collecting foliage only on Fridays.

Along with the acacia and eugenia, Mejia also picks hibiscus, a colorful plant used for landscaping, and bamboo shoots, which grow on the zoo grounds.

Mejia said that, although his job is gratifying, it can have its down moments.

“Sometimes I’m working real hard picking bamboo shoots and the animals only eat the top parts. . . . It’s frustrating,” Mejia joked.

He occasionally receives calls from zoo neighbors who volunteer their eugenia to the zoo. “But sometimes you drive all the way there and they don’t have what you want. . . . That can ruin your whole day,” Mejia said.

Loading his cargo into the back of the zoo’s 4-by-8-foot pickup truck, Mejia makes several drops at various parts of the zoo during the day.

Coburn said the Browse Program will continue because zoo keepers are becoming more aware of the comfort of the animals.

“I think we’re becoming more sensitive to the quality of life of the animals,” Coburn said.

“Here we have the option of doing something for the animals so they can be as happy as possible.”