There are a huge number of animals on the globe that live in water, on land and in the air. Scientists have counted nearly two million different animal species. They are all completely different, differ among themselves not only in size, color, but also in the type of food.
Animal nutrition
There are various food chains in the animal kingdom. There are species that consume exclusively plant foods, they are herbivores. For example, the usual diet of a hare is succulent grass, plant shoots and tree bark. Bees feed on pollen and nectar from flowers.
Predatory animals, which include wolves, tigers, lions, owls and even ladybugs, get their food in the process of hunting for live prey. Large mammals, rodents, various small animals, bird eggs, carrion can serve as food for predators.
There are also animals in nature that successfully consume plant foods along with the meat of other animals. Therefore, they are called omnivores.
What animals are omnivores?
In the warm season, a brown bear finds various edible fruits, berries, and nuts in the forest. But a meager vegetable diet is not enough for him, he does not mind supplementing it with small rodents, some species of insects, bird eggs. After hibernation, the bear wakes up skinny and hungry, and there is still very little plant food, so it is forced to act as a predator, attacking deer and livestock.
Wild boars have a varied menu, eating fruits, seeds and stems of plants, their rhizomes, mushrooms, nuts, bulbs, lichens. They are also not averse to feasting on small rodents, worms, snakes, frogs, snails, insect larvae, lizards. It is very difficult for boars to survive in winter. They search for food under the snow, exploring fields and vegetable gardens. In summer, wild pigs love to swim in water bodies, swim well and quickly.
The hedgehog goes into hibernation for the winter time, comfortably settling in a nest prepared in advance in the ground. If he has not accumulated the necessary fat reserves, he may not live until spring. Usually in April, the hedgehog gets out of his shelter. At this time, he is very gluttonous, the food eaten is equal to 1/3 of the weight of the animal itself. It feeds on fruits, berries, acorns and mushrooms. It is not surprising, but hedgehogs run fast, swim well and climb trees. This helps them to get earthworms, slugs, insects and their larvae, snails, kivsaki. At home, hedgehogs will not give up meat, bread and eggs.
The badger lives in a burrow, hibernating for the winter period. It is active at night, hunting frogs, earthworms, insects, lizards, birds, as well as small rodents. Eats nuts, mushrooms, juicy grass and ripe berries. By the fall, it eats off well and stores up in fat, which helps to survive the winter.
In addition, cockroaches, chimpanzees, ostriches, striped raccoons, gray cranes, giant lizards, and warthogs are also omnivores.