Biology

Examples of Carnivorous Animals

We explain the examples of carnivorous animals. There are different ways to classify animals. One of the characteristics used to make classifications is its diet. Animals that eat plants are herbivores, those that consume mainly insects are insectivores and those that consume mainly meat are carnivores.

The organism of carnivorous animals is evolutionarily adapted to take advantage of the nutrients in meat: Their snouts are adapted to be able to tear meat, rather than to shred. That is why their teeth are sharp and many have developed fangs. In addition, their digestive system is generally much shorter than that of herbivores, so they require to consume food more frequently.

Carnivorous animals can be divided into predators and raptors. Predators are hunters stalking their prey, killing and consuming it. Raptors are scavengers that eat the remains left by hunting animals or consume dead animals found in their territory.

Most of the predatory carnivorous animals, in natural conditions do not attack the human being, unless they are hungry or feel threatened; under these conditions anyone can attack and kill. This is not only valid for carnivores, but for any animal in the wild.

There are carnivorous animals of all kinds: Birds, such as eagles, hawks, vultures and buzzards. Also Mammals such as tigers, lions, dogs and cats. Among the aquatic animals we have sharks, anemones, crustaceans and cod.

From a biological point of view, human beings have characteristics of both a herbivore and a carnivore, since their digestive system is adapted to consume both types of food. This type of consumption is called omnivore. The human being needs both types of food, since all provide nutrients that the others do not have or that the digestive system of man cannot take advantage of, so in their diet, both types of food are complementary.