What do vertebrats EAT? – Animal Behaviour Zone

Question: What do vertebrats EAT?
- Keywords:
  food,
  vertebrate
Asked by Julen to Carrie, Cedric, Ellen, Ines, Rupert on 14 Mar 2017.
- Cedric Tan answered on 14 Mar 2017:
  
  Good question! A variety of things depending on what species.
  
  The carnivores like tigers eat other animals, prey like wild boar.
  The herbivores like deer eat plants and the omnivores like wild boar feed on both plants and animals like worms.
  
  Some vertebrates called scavengers (like the raven or vultures) feed on dead animals.
- Ellen Williams answered on 14 Mar 2017:
  
  As Cedric says vertebrates come in all different shapes and sizes so they eat lots of different things! Main vertebrate types are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores.
  
  So carnivores are meat eaters (some animals are obligate carnivores which means they cannot eat anything other than meat as their bodies cannot digest plant materials, they are also most well adapted for eating meat) – like the big cats. Omnivores eat both animal and plant eaters (like humans). Herbivores eat only plant material (grazing species – like elephants)
- Rupert Marshall answered on 14 Mar 2017:
  
  That’s a big question. It depends on the species. Some are really specialised, like pandas eating bamboo. or Kakapos (a flightless parrot from New Zealand) which will only reproduce when there is enough of a certain fruit, called rimu. Some animals are carnivores, eating meat, like lions and foxes. Some are herbivores, eating only plants, like antelopes and cows. Omnivores eat pretty much anything, like pigs and us humans. Lots of variety and lots of food. One species is often the food of another. Maybe something has its eye on you…
- Carrie Ijichi answered on 15 Mar 2017:
  
  There are so many vertebrates is hard to answer this question! Even within one vertebrate species they might eat a huge variety of things (like you do!). If they’re herbivores they’ll eat vegetation (horses, giraffes etc). if they’re carnivores they’ll get most of their nutrition from meat (cats are true carnivores) and if they’re omnivores they’ll eat a combination of both (humans, bears etc).
- Ines Goncalves answered on 16 Mar 2017:
  
  Everything and anything!
  carnivores eat mostly meat, herbivores eat plants, omnivores like us and pigs eat a mix of most. Many species will eat fruit when it’s available and ripe. Scavengers eat mostly dead animals though they will prey on small species if they have the opportunity.

Question: What do vertebrats EAT?

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