FEEDING HABITS
• Different animals eat different types of food.
• Based on their feeding habits, animals can be classified into:
Herbivorous animals/Herbivores:
• Animals that eat only plants are called herbivores.
• Herbivores have teeth adapted to chewing plants.
• Their big molars are designed to help them grind up leaves, seeds and twigs.
• They eat seed-pods, grass, leaves and vegetables.
Carnivorous animals/Carnivores:
• Animals that eat only the flesh of other animals are called carnivores.
• Carnivores have strong, pointed jaws to snap at their prey and tear off chunks of flesh easily.
• They are hunters and can only eat once they have caught their prey.
• Mammals that are carnivores have sharp teeth adapted for ripping meat.
• Carnivores like the wolf have large, powerful jaws that help bring down large animals like deer.
Figure 9: Carnivores like lion have powerful jaws that help them bring down animals like deer
Omnivorous animals/Omnivores:
• Animals that eat both plants and animals are called omnivores.
• Omnivores eat a variety of foods, including meat and vegetables.
• Baboons, rats, cockroaches and human beings are all examples of omnivores.
Other animals having different feeding habits:
(1) Snakes swallow their food whole.
(2) Mosquitoes suck blood from the body of human beings.
(3) Birds have beaks and claws.
(4) Elephants have a long trunk to lift their food & put into their mouths.
(5) Rabbits, rats, squirrel, etc. have sharp front teeth to gnaw seeds and fruits.
