Carnivores and Herbivores: Characteristics, Types and Examples

Carnivores and Herbivores are the two classifications of animals based on their mode of nutrition. While carnivorous animals fulfill their nutrient requirements through other animals, the herbivores depend on the plants to fulfill their nutritional needs. An ecosystem’s balance is maintained by the presence of all types of animals. If any of the animal types become extinct or endangered, the ecosystem will lose its balance. If the population of herbivores declines in our ecosystem, the carnivores will not be able to survive for much longer. In this article, we will have a look at carnivores and herbivores, and understand the difference between the two.

Keyterms: Carnivores, Herbivores, Nutrition, Ecosystem, Tigers, Jaguars, Lions, Bones, Flesh, Teeth, Flesh

Also read: Biodiversity and conservation

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Carnivores

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Carnivores or carnivorous animals are those that feed on other animals. They have evolved over time and developed characteristic features that help them hunt their prey. For example, big cats like tigers, jaguars, and lions have muscular bodies to chase their prey, with strong jaws and sharp teeth to bite and tear flesh and bones.

Carnivores

Basic Features of Carnivores

The basic features of carnivorous animals are: -

1. Carnivore animals have a specially adapted set of teeth to kill their prey and feed. For example, cats have sharped canines and snakes have venomous fangs like injections to inject venom.
2. Carnivores like frogs, lizards, and chameleons are equipped with long sticky tongues to capture their prey.
3. Cats like tigers, cheetahs, jaguars have strong muscular legs, to chase their prey and climb on trees if needed.
4. Carnivorous animals have small intestines as they do not require digesting plant-based proteins.
5. Carnivores don’t have the ability to detoxify Vitamin A in their liver.

Carnivore

Types of Carnivores

On the basis of what carnivores eat, they can be further characterized into the following categories:

On the basis of how they prey, we can further divide carnivores into a few more categories:-

1. Predators: These carnivores hunt their food/prey like tiger, lion, cheetah, etc.
2. Scavengers: These carnivores feed on dead and decaying animals. They do not hunt their own food, rather feed on the leftovers of other predators. They have sharp and strong canines and molars to even chew on bones and digest them. They generally eat in packs. Examples include hyena, vulture, etc.

Further on the basis of the composition of meat in their diet, carnivores can be classified as:-

1. Hypercarnivores: Shark, owl, tiger, lion, etc. Basically, all the top predators come under this list. Their diet composition is more than 70% meat.
2. Mesocarnivores: Carnivores with diet composition within 50-70% flesh come under this category. Examples include dog, fox, etc.
3. Hypocarnivores: Carnivores that have less than 30% meat are included in this category. For example, bears, humans, etc.

Examples of Carnivores

• Mammals: Tiger, lion, jaguar, cheetah, fox, wolf, etc.
• Birds: Hawk, vulture, eagle, woodpecker, kites, etc.
• Reptiles: Snakes, lizards, Komodo dragon, chameleon, crocodiles, and alligator (also amphibian), etc.
• Fishes: Sharks, whales, tuna, octopus, squid, etc.

Classification of animals on the basis of their mode of nutrition

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Some Unique Facts About Carnivores

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• Carnivores have only uni-directional movement in their jaws. They can only move it up and down and not sideways.
• Not all carnivores are strict flesh-eaters. Some animals like red pandas and raccoons are carnivores but consume very little meat.
• Carnivores have a very simple digestive system, unlike herbivores.
• All carnivores have a common ancestor.
• Plants like the Venus flytrap are carnivorous plants and feed on insects, small birds, etc.

Read More: Algal Bloom 

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Herbivores

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Herbivores or herbivorous animals are those that feed on fruits, plants, or plant-based nutrition. They are also known as primary consumers of a food chain. Examples include giraffe, cow, zebra, horse, etc. There are some herbivores that specialize in feeding on specific parts of the plant such as animals that consume only fruits are called frugivores while those that feed on leaves are referred to as folivores.

Herbivores

Read More: Heterotrophic Nutrition

Basic Features of Herbivores

The basic features of herbivorous animals are:

1. Herbivores are physically and physiologically functioning animals that feed on plants and plant-based food.
2. Herbivores generally have mutually leveled bacteria in their digestive system that helps in the breakdown of the plant-based food and release methane.
3. Most herbivores also have a regurgitating mechanism, and they chew their food twice to digest cellulose.
4. Herbivores also have an intestine approximately 10 times their body size to digest the cellulose.
5. Herbivores are also equipped with a special set of teeth to chew their food properly. They usually have strong and flat molars to grind their food.

Herbivores

Types of Herbivores

Herbivores can be classified into 4 types based on what they consume.

1. Animals that feed on fruits are called Frugivores. For example, bats.
2. Herbivores that feed on leafy parts are called Folivores. For example, cow, goat, etc.
3. Animals that feed on grains are called Granivores. For example, pigeons.
4. Herbivores that feed on nectar are called Nectivores. For example, butterfly.

Examples of Herbivores

• Insects: Grasshoppers, butterflies, treehoppers, etc.
• Reptiles: Iguanas and tortoises
• Birds: Parrots, goose, etc.

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Things to Remember

• Carnivores are the animals that fulfill their nutritional requirements by feeding on other animals.
• Carnivores can be divided into certain categories on the basis of their mode of nutrition, type of nutrition, and composition of nutrition.
• Carnivores are specially adapted to suit their needs with sharp canines, muscular bodies, and small and simple digestive systems.
• Examples of carnivores include a tiger, lion, shark, crocodile, chameleon, snakes, etc.
• Herbivores are those animals that feed on plants and consume plant-based substances.
• Herbivores are equipped with mutual gut flora, and longer intestines with flat molar teeth to grind and digest the cellulose in plant food.
• Examples include horses, cows, zebra, goats, sheep, etc.

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