Animal

Hunting and Feeding

Christina Wilsdon
 AnimAl BehAvior

Animal Communication
Animal Courtship
Animal Defenses
Animal Hunting and Feeding
Animal Life in Groups
Animal Migration
 animal

hunting and Feeding

nataliE GoldstEin
Animal Behavior: Animal Hunting and Feeding
Copyright  2009 by Infobase Publishing

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Goldstein, Natalie.
Animal hunting and feeding / Natalie Goldstein.
p. cm. — (Animal behavior)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60413-143-7 (hardcover)
1. Animals—Food. I. Title. II. Series.

QL756.5.G63 2009
591.5’3—dc22 2008040124

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cover: An egg-eater snake swallows an egg from another animal’s nest in

Savannah, South Africa.
 Contents
1 It’s All About Food 7
2 Waiting for Food 15
3 Sharing and Taking 30
4 Plant-Eating Animals 39
5 The Hunters 49
6 Generalists and Specialists 69
7 Scavengers and Decomposers 79
8 Agents of Change 89

Glossary 98
Bibliography 100
Further Resources 101
Picture Credits 104
Index 105
About the Author 110
 1
It’s All About Food

it’s no secret that people love to eat. There must be thou-

sands—maybe millions—of cookbooks that show how much we
love food and how much time and energy we devote to making
meals. No doubt, we are the only animal species that is so cre-
ative with food.
Lions may not savor a raw zebra flank the same way we relish
the smell and taste of a perfectly cooked Thanksgiving turkey.
Goats likely don’t swoon at the delicate scent and velvety texture
of a nibbled flower the way people savor their favorite desserts.
Yet, all animals eat for the same basic reason: Food gives us the
energy we need to stay alive.
Every human culture has its own food specialties. The type
of food people eat and the way they prepare it has a lot to do with
where people live. People who live in the far north hunt and eat
fish and marine mammals because most plants can’t grow in such
a cold climate. People living in hot, humid places often eat spicy
food. That’s because spices help preserve food and keep it from
spoiling in the heat.
Similarly, what animals eat depends on where they live. An
animal’s size and species also determine its diet. Both caterpillars


8 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

and elephants feed on tree leaves, but they feed quite differently.
There are many ways in which different animals can use a source
of food.

whY AnimAls eAt

Everyone needs energy to stay alive. People use energy all the
time, even when sitting or sleeping. Heart muscles keep blood
moving through veins and arteries. Lungs take in and release air.
Muscles and digestive organs are often at work, and the brain
never stops working. Animals get the energy they need to stay
alive from food.
The amount of food energy that an animal needs depends
on how fast it burns, or uses up, the energy it has. The process
of burning up energy is called metabolism. The more active
a body is, the higher its metabolism. Moving muscles burn up
more energy than relaxed muscles. The higher an animal’s me-
tabolism is, the more food it needs. A flying hummingbird beats
its wings almost constantly. It has a very high metabolism and
needs a great deal of food. Of course, an animal’s size also de-
termines how much food it must eat. Even a sleeping elephant
needs more food than the most active hummingbird because
the elephant has a much larger body to maintain. Also, warm-
blooded animals maintain their own body temperatures, which
requires energy.

A PlAnetArY FeAst
Every living thing on Earth needs food to stay alive. All that
food comes from one place: other living things. Almost every
plant or animal is a source of food for something else. Animals
not only need to find food, they also must try not to end up as a
meal for another animal.
 it’s All About Food 9

On average, hummingbirds flap their wings 50 times a second, which is

faster than any other bird.

Most animals cannot eat just anything that comes their way.
They are adapted to eating only certain types of food. A deer’s
teeth and digestive system are adapted to browsing tree leaves. A
10 animal hUntinG and FeedinG

tiger’s teeth, jaws, and digestive system are adapted to hunting

and eating other animals.
When an animal eats food, chemicals called enzymes break
down the food so the body can use it. A deer does not have en-
zymes to break down meat. So even if a deer ate meat, it would
not get the energy it needs. If a tiger ate a ton of tree leaves, it
would starve. That’s because its stomach cannot digest and get
energy from leaves.

where Food ComeS From

Where does food come from? This may sound like a silly and
simple question, but it’s not. The whole food circle of eating and
being eaten always starts with the sun.
Sunlight contains energy. Green plants use this energy to
make their own food. They do this by carrying out a chemical
process, called photosynthesis. Plants absorb the energy in sun-
light. They use that energy to chemically combine water (which
their roots take in from soil) and carbon dioxide gas (which their
leaves take in from the air). This produces a type of sugar. Plants
use the sugar as food.
Green plants are the only living things that can make their
own food. Because they do not have to eat any other living thing
to survive, green plants form the foundation of the planet’s food
system.
Scientists have studied the feeding relationships among
plants and animals. They have grouped every living thing ac-
cording to what it eats. These groups are called feeding levels, or
trophic levels.
Green plants make up the first trophic level. They form the
base on which all other living things depend. Because they make
their own food and don’t eat other things, green plants are called
primary producers. That is, they produce the food (their own
 It’s All About Food 11

This ecological pyramid provides an example of trophic levels in one

location. Reading from the bottom up, this example shows that grass
and other plants provide food for crickets and caterpillars. Then they are
food for snakes and small ducks, which in turn are meals for the owl.
12 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

bodies) that is at the base of all other food relationships. Without

primary producers, no animals would exist.
Animals that eat green plants make up the next feeding level.
These animals are called primary consumers. They consume, or
eat, the primary producers (green plants). Primary consumers
come in every shape and size, from insects to deer to elephants.
The next trophic level includes the first meat-eating animals.
This group is called the secondary consumers. They eat the pri-
mary consumers. Secondary consumers include lions and tigers.
There can be several levels of meat-eating consumers. The
highest level of meat eater is the top predator. The top predator
can, and often does, eat any animal at any lower level. The top
predator usually does not eat plants. Humans are top predators
because they have the tools and the ability to hunt and eat all
other animals. Humans are among the few top predators that
also can eat green plants. However, humans are not always the
top predator. People who go hiking in Glacier National Park
in the Rocky Mountains lose their status as top predator to the
grizzly bear.
Feeding relationships among animals can be shown in a dia-
gram called a food chain. A food chain is a simplified picture
that shows the feeding relationships among certain animals and
plants. It shows how animals at different trophic levels interact
with one another. In a food chain diagram, the arrows point from
each plant or animal that is eaten to the animal that eats it. For
example, in this food chain diagram, the weasel eats the hare.
The following food chain shows the feeding relationships among
plants, insects, and animals in a land ecosystem in which foxes,
hawks, and owls are top predators.
Food chains are a simplified view of feeding relationships. A
more accurate chart, called a food web, shows that most feeding
 it’s all about Food 13

The arrows in this food chain indicate how plants are eaten by herbi-
vores, such as rabbits and plant-eating insects. They are then eaten by
such carnivorous creatures as foxes and snakes.
14 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

relationships are complicated because they are not linear (e.g., one
animal eats another who eats another) and they involve many more
species. But even a food web doesn’t show the whole picture. Most
feeding relationships are so complicated that most people don’t
fully understand them.
 2
Waiting for Food

Some animalS don’t “work” for their food. They might

plunk themselves down in one place for a long time and seem to
do nothing. There’s no reason to work hard to get food when it
will come to you.

PaSSive FeederS
Passive feeders wait for food to come to them. Many anchor
themselves in one spot and wait for their meals to arrive. Passive
feeding is possible only in places with rich food supplies. Most
passive feeders live in water, particularly in the ocean along a
shore. Near-shore ocean water is packed with food. Most of the
food consists of tiny plants and animals that are carried by ocean
currents.
These tiny organisms are called plankton. Algae are a com-
mon type of plant plankton. Some tiny animals (such as diatoms),
the larvae of other sea animals, and even dot-sized water insects
are kinds of animal plankton, called zooplankton. Coastal ocean
water has so much plankton that it’s like a rich soup of living
things. The ocean is like a restaurant in which this soup is served
to passive feeders.

15
16 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

Diatom algae are a type of plankton found at the bottom of the marine
food chain. Passive feeders eat the single-celled algae.

Filter Feeders
Sponges, clams, mussels, barnacles, and oysters are typical filter
feeders. Anyone who has visited a rocky seashore at low tide has
probably seen large clusters of mussels stuck to the side of a rock.
Like most filter feeders, mussels will attach themselves to almost
any solid surface that is regularly covered with ocean water. Bar-
nacles also are known for sticking themselves to a solid surface,
such as a rock or the side of a ship. They use a glue that they
 waiting for Food 1

make themselves. Barnacle glue is made from several “adhesive”

proteins that emerge from the barnacle’s body as threads, as well
as a material that makes the protein threads as hard as cement.
Barnacle cement is the strongest (and most waterproof) glue in
the world.
A filter-feeding animal attaches itself to a solid surface when
it is young. Once attached, it stays put for its entire life. On this
spot, the animal starts to grow. The soft, inner body gets larger.
The animal produces a hard shell that protects it. Mussels and

Most filter feeders, such as mussels and barnacles (the white clumps
attached to the mussels), attach themselves to a solid surface and stay
there for life.
18 ANIMAL HUNTING AND FEEDING

clams produce a two-part shell connected at one point. When an

animal tries to eat a clam or mussel, the strong shell snaps shut.
Only a few animals can open these shells to eat the tender flesh
inside.
When the ocean tide goes out and they are exposed to the
air, mussels and clams close their shells. This keeps their soft
inner bodies from drying out. The shells stay closed until the
tide comes in. When they are covered with ocean water, the
mussels and clams open their shells to feed.
A fi lter-feeding barnacle eats by opening its many-plated
shell and extending a fan of tentacles, or feathery limbs, into
the water. The tentacles are covered with tiny hairs. They
also are coated with a sticky, mucuslike substance made by
special glands. As ocean water flows past, the tentacles are
swept gently back and forth. Plankton get caught in the sticky
mucus. Then the tiny hairs start moving, creating a gentle
current of water that sweeps the food toward the barnacle’s

When a barnacle senses the tide returning, it opens its shell and extends
its fan of feeding tentacles. When the tide goes out, the barnacle closes
its shell again to keep it from drying out in the open air.
 waiting for Food 19

mouth. Each tentacle can snare hundreds of plankton during

one feeding session. A barnacle keeps feeding in this way until
the tide goes out. Then it closes up its shell and digests its
meal.
A sponge is also a filter-feeding animal that lives stuck to one
spot. A sponge gathers plankton by sucking in big “mouthfuls” of
seawater. Then it strains the water through a strainer in its body.
The strainer traps plankton. The rest of the water is released into
the ocean.
Mussels, clams, and oysters have filter-feeding systems that
use gills. When the tide comes in, an oyster’s shell opens to
reveal a fan-shaped structure that extends from the front to the
back of the animal. The fan forms a gridlike screen project-
ing out into the water. As water flows through the screen, the
mucus-coated, meshlike fan snares plankton. Tiny hairs on the
screen sweep the plankton down “food grooves” on the ten-
tacles toward the base of the gills. The gills screen out edible
plankton, which the oyster eats. Food is moved through the
oyster’s gut by hairs similar to those on its fan. Unlike people,
an oyster does not have muscles that move food through its
digestive system.
Some filter feeders specialize in eating food that floats
down to the sea bottom from the surface. These animals are
called deposit feeders. Some kinds of shrimp, and many worms,
are deposit feeders. Many of them burrow under the mud on
the seafloor. When a burrowing shrimp is safe under the mud,
it opens a part of its shell and extends two limbs into the water.
The limbs move about, “feeling” for particles of food that have
fallen onto the seafloor. When a tasty morsel is found and tan-
gled in the limbs’ mucus, tiny hairs on the limbs transport the
food to the shrimp’s mouth. Most sea worms use their tenta-
cles to grope around the seafloor to fi nd the remains of living
20 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

things, or bits of organic matter. They use the tentacles, as well

as mucus and tiny hairs, to catch and eat food.
Some filter feeders take a more active role in food gather-
ing. Sea anemones are beautiful creatures that extend feathery
tentacles into the water to catch food. However, sea anemones’
tentacles have a food-snaring advantage: They contain sting-
ing cells. These cells immobilize or kill prey that bump into the
tentacles. The tentacle then carries the powerless prey into the
sea anemone’s mouth. Sea nettles and hydroids also “hunt” with
stinging cells on their tentacles.

Floating stingers
Sea anemones settle in one place for life. Jellyfish, on the other
hand, float freely. But jellyfish are also passive feeders because
they do not “look” for food. Jellyfish have long, threadlike ten-
tacles hanging down from their dome-shaped, jellylike bodies.
These tentacles are covered with stinging cells that can kill
any prey unfortunate enough to come into contact with them.
The sea nettle, a relative of the sea anemone, is a kind of jel-
lyfish. Its body is a clear dome of a soft, jellylike material that
is about 90% water. Nearly invisible tentacles extend from the
dome into the water. They sway with the ocean current. The
sea nettle’s sting is powerful enough to stun or even kill a small
fish or crustacean. When prey touches one of its tentacles, cells
shoot out microscopically small darts filled with poison. The
poison stuns or paralyzes the prey. The sea nettle then scoops
it up and eats it.
A human swimmer who comes into contact with a sea nettle
may get an unpleasant sting. Yet, this sting is nothing compared
with the stings of larger and more poisonous jellyfish.
Not all jellyfish have stingers. The comb jellies are a
group of jellyfish that use their dome-shaped bodies to pump
 waiting for Food 21

The saucer-shaped sea nettle mainly feeds on zooplankton and other

jellyfi sh, but also eats small crustaceans and minnows.
22 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

water upward toward their numerous tentacles. When feed-

ing, the dome expands and contracts in a smooth rhythm. This
pumping action ensures that more food will be caught by the
tentacles.

A flamingo is a filter feeder. Screenlike plates in its beak help it trap food
in its mouth and let the water out.
 waiting for Food 23

FantaStiC FiltererS
Not all filter feeders are small marine animals. One of the most
unique filter feeders is a large bird: the flamingo. A flamingo
dips its head in the water and then turns it upside down. In
this position, the bird uses its beak to filter tiny animals out of
the water. A flamingo’s beak contains plates that form a screen.
The screen lets water flow through, but traps food. The fla-
mingo sweeps its upside-down head from side to side through
the water. The bird has a spiny tongue, too. Its movement helps
pump water through the beak. When enough food is trapped
behind the beaky screen, the tongue sweeps it farther back into
the bird’s mouth.
It’s hard to think of a whale as a filter feeder, but some
types of whales do feed this way. Of course, it takes an enor-
mous amount of plankton to feed a whale, but these whales feed
in plankton-rich waters. Filter-feeding whales are called baleen
whales. Humpbacks, blue whales, fi n whales, and right whales
are baleen whales. Baleen is a filtering screen that baleen whales
have in their mouths. The screen is made of horn-like plates
with fringed edges that hang like a sheet from the whale’s upper
jaw. The baleen is pleated, so it folds easily when the whale clos-
es its mouth.
A baleen whale feeds by opening its mouth and allowing
the screen to expand. As the whale swims forward, it gulps
in plankton-fi lled seawater. The water passes through the
baleen, and the plankton are trapped in it. When the whale
closes its mouth, the water is pushed out and the plankton are
swallowed.
The fact that a two-ton whale can survive by filtering plank-
ton out of seawater shows that the sea is rich in plankton. In
Antarctica, a prime feeding site for some species, adult baleen
24 animal hUntinG and FeedinG

whales routinely take in six to eight tons of krill—shelled zoo-

plankton—every day.

traPS and lUreS

Truly passive feeding has its drawbacks. For example, not enough
food may come the animal’s way. Some animals seem to encour-
age prey to find them. They use traps or lures to tempt their
meals to come to them.
Everyone is familiar with the most common animal trap:
the spider web. Each species of web-spinning spider constructs
a web with its own particular pattern. The pattern helps the
spider trap the insects it likes to eat. After spinning its web,
the spider sits and waits for an insect to blunder into the web.
Spiders wait with each of their eight legs placed on a different
web thread. This allows the spider to feel movement in all of
the threads in the web. The spider waits for a tug that tells it
that dinner has arrived.
In some spider webs, each thread is covered with dots of a
sticky liquid. When an insect comes into contact with a thread,
the “glue” traps it. As the insect struggles to free itself, it wraps
itself in more sticky threads. Many spiders that spin sticky webs
are immune to the “glue.” The spider rushes across the web to
check out its meal. Most spiders bite the struggling prey and
use venom to paralyze it. The spider may then eat the prey im-
mediately (by sucking out the fluids inside its body), or it may
wrap the prey up in web threads and save it for later, when it is
hungrier.
Not all spiders spin webs. The trap-door spider lives in the
dry southwestern United States. This spider digs a hole in the
sand and lines it with a type of silk, similar to the material in a
spider web. Then the spider gets into the hole and begins to use
silk and sand to make a covering, or trap door, over the hole. The
 waiting for Food 25

PASSIVE YOUTH
in a sense, the young of some animals feed passively. Baby
birds must wait for their parents to bring them food. the
young stay in the nest while the mother, father, or both
parents look for food. some bird parents bring whole
foods, such as worms or bugs. other bird parents eat food
and fly back to the nest. the hatchlings open their mouths
wide and cry out. the tiny open mouths and the cries trig-
ger the parent to regurgitate, or bring up from its stomach,
the food it has just eaten. often, the young stick their tiny
beaks into a parent’s mouth to receive the regurgitated
food, which is much easier for many baby birds to digest
than chunks of food.
some birds do not regurgitate food for their young.
owls, hawks, and eagles catch and kill small animals and
carry them back to the nest. they drop the dead prey in the
nest, and then it is up to the chicks to learn how to eat it.

Some young animals feed passively, like these baby blackbirds

who are waiting for regurgitated food from their parents.
26 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

silk threads in the cover are connected to the silk within the hole,
so when the spider is hiding patiently in the hole it can feel any
insect touching the covering. The silk threads are so sensitive
that the touch of even the smallest insect sets them vibrating.
When the spider in the hole feels the vibration, it shoots its head
out the trap door. It grabs the insect and drags it into the hole to
dine on it. The trap-door spider moves so quickly that its prey
has no time to get away.
Ant lions are desert insects. Before an ant lion burrows into
the sand, it scoops out a little bowl in the sand. When the ant lion
is satisfied with its bowl, it burrows under the sand at the bottom.
Any ant that enters the bowl discovers that it cannot climb out.
The sloping sides of the bowl are angled to prevent escape. As
the ant tries to climb out, sand from the sides flows down over it.
The more it struggles, the more trapped it becomes. When the
ant lion hears the sand sliding down the sides of its bowl, it knows
it’s got a trapped ant. The ant lion emerges from its burrow and
gobbles up the ant.

cAmouFlAGe
Many animals that lay in wait for prey must blend into their sur-
roundings to make sure they don’t scare away an approaching
meal. Blending into your surroundings is called camouflage. One
of the champions of camouflage is the chameleon, a reptile that
can change color to match its environment. Chameleons often sit
still on tree limbs, waiting for insects to fly by. Chameleons stand
stock-still as they swivel their eyes to see if a meal is approaching.
When an insect nears, the lurking chameleon shoots out its fan-
tastically long, sticky tongue and snares the insect. In the blink
of an eye, the bug is snapped back into the chameleon’s mouth.
Many insects, such as praying mantises, match the color
of the leaves around them. These predators are nearly invisible
 waiting for Food 2

FLESH-EATING PLANTS
Bogs are places where the soil has very few nutrients. Bog
plants must get the nutrients they need from somewhere
else. many bog plants have devised ways to lure, trap, kill,
and digest insects. Because plants can’t move around and
hunt for prey, in some ways these plants are similar to ani-
mals that lure their prey.

(continues)

Flies and other insects can get stuck on the gluey substance
lining the leaf pairs of a Venus fl ytrap. When something lands
between the pair of leaves, the leaves will close around it to
seal the trap, and the doomed insect will be digested alive.
28 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

(continued)

the venus flytrap is probably the most famous flesh-

eating plant. the plant’s trap-door leaves are coated with a
sticky substance. its scent attracts flies and other insects.
when a fly lands on a leaf, it becomes stuck. the plant
senses that it has caught a meal. slowly but surely, the
leafy trap closes. the trapped insect is then slowly digest-
ed by enzymes.
sundews are flesh-eating plants that attract flies to
globs of gluelike liquid on their leaves. Any unfortunate
fly that lands on a leaf and attempts to eat the glue is held
fast. the trapped fly is slowly digested by the plant. Pitcher
plants produce an insect-attracting liquid at the bottom
of their slippery, tunnel-like leaves. Any insect that flies
into the pitcher plant to feed on the liquid cannot escape.
they are trapped by downward-pointing hairs that cover
the slippery inner surface of the “pitcher.” eventually, the
exhausted insect falls back into the liquid, where it dies
and is digested by the plant.

and can catch any bug that wanders their way. (However, many
insects use camouflage for protection from predators, too. For
example, a stick insect that looks like a twig, and a leaf insect
that looks like a leaf, are less likely to be seen and attacked by
predators.)
The alligator uses camouflage as it waits for unsuspecting
prey to approach. Floating just beneath the surface near the
shore of a freshwater lake or river, an alligator is almost invis-
ible. The alligator can see through the water. It keeps its eyes
focused on the shore, where animals come to drink. When it
spies a likely meal, the alligator charges out of the water with
tremendous speed. Usually, the prey animal is so startled that
 waiting for Food 29

it cannot react in time. The prey is quickly clamped between

the alligator’s powerful jaws. Alligators kill their prey by drag-
ging it below the surface of the water and drowning it.
 3
Sharing and Taking

GettinG and eatinG Food is not always a fight to the death

in which one animal wins and the other becomes a meal. Some-
times in nature two animal species help each other by the way
they eat and the food they eat. A situation that benefits two ani-
mals of different species is called mutualism.

CooPeration Between PlantS

and animalS
The most common form of mutualism is between plants and
animals. Flowers produce nectar, which insects eat. While the
insects are eating the sweet nectar, they also pick up pollen from
the flower. As they move from flower to flower, the insects trans-
fer the dustlike pollen, too. This is called pollination. Once a
plant is pollinated, it can produce seeds, some of which even-
tually grow to become new plants. So plants benefit from this
relationship, too.
There are less common mutualistic relationships between
plants and animals. These relationships often involve insects.
One type of stinging ant lives on acacia trees in Africa. The tree
leaves produce nectar, which the ants eat. The acacia tree also

30
 Sharing and taking 31

produces thorns in which the ants nest. The ants benefit from
living on the acacia tree, and the tree benefits, too. If another
animal tries to nibble the leaves of the acacia tree, the ants sting
the intruder. The swarms of stinging ants protect the tree from
animals that might eat its leaves and harm it. Both organisms
benefit. In other parts of the world, ants that live on an acacia tree
help keep other plants away. If a plant sprouts near the “home”
acacia, the ants eat it down to the ground. These ants keep a
large, plant-free border around “their” tree. This ensures that no
other plant competes with the acacia for resources, such as water
and soil nutrients.
There is a similar mutually beneficial relationship between
corals and algae. Corals are animals that can’t live long with-
out the algae that live inside them. Corals live in shallow ocean
water. They have soft bodies covered with cocoonlike shells that
they make themselves, using a calcium-rich substance in the
water. Corals live together in a community called a reef. Though
coral animals do filter some food out of seawater, they cannot live
on this food alone. So corals have algae living inside them. The
algae carry out photosynthesis, which produces a type of sugar
that the corals need to survive. The algae benefit because they
live snug and protected within a coral’s hard shell.

CleaninG UP
Some of the most amazing animal relationships occur between
large, fierce predators and the small animals that help keep them
clean. Cleaning fish, called wrasse, make their living picking food
particles from between the teeth of sharks. When a shark sees a
wrasse, it becomes a gentle dental patient. It opens its mouth and
waits patiently as the wrasse swims inside and picks out bits of
old food stuck between the many rows of razor-sharp teeth. The
shark never eats the wrasse.
32 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

A rhinoceros peacefully walks while an oxpecker makes a meal of in-

sects and other pests on its skin.

One species of shrimp waves its antennae back and forth

through the water near a coral reef to attract fish. Any fish pass-
ing by is invited to stop and allow the shrimp to remove any food
caught in its gills or any blood-sucking pests attached to its body.
The fish appreciates getting a good cleaning and the shrimp gets
the food it needs to survive.
Similar, mutually beneficial relationships occur among many
other animals. The oxpecker is an African bird that lands on the
backs of grazing animals, such as oxen, antelope, zebras, and cat-
tle. The bird uses its beak to remove insect pests that have taken
up residence on the skin of the grazer. Some of these insects
 sharing and taking 33

make the grazing animals sick; others are just an irritant. In any
case, the oxpecker pecks out the pests while the large animal
grazes calmly. Again, both animals benefit because the grazer
gets rid of infesting insects and the oxpecker eats the insects it
craves as food.

AnimAl rAnchers
Strange as it may seem, some ants are the insect equivalent of
cowboys or cattle ranchers. The ants don’t actually raise cattle.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT

occasionally, two organisms become so dependent on
each other that neither can survive alone. this is what hap-
pened on mauritius, an island in the indian ocean.
the birds on this island had no predators. the dodo
was one bird that thrived on mauritius. Because it did not
have to escape predators, the dodo lost the ability to fly.
the dodo also developed a relationship with the tambala-
coque tree, which grew on the island. this tree produced
nuts with shells so hard that no animal could crack them
open. Yet each nut had to be opened before it could grow
into a tree. the dodo was the only bird that could swal-
low these nuts whole. then, the bird’s powerful muscles in
its pebble-filled gizzard crushed the shell. when the seed
was deposited on the ground in the bird’s droppings, a tree
would sprout.
most people know that the dodo is most famous for
being extinct. hundreds of years ago, sailors who found
mauritius were delighted at how easy it was to catch and
kill dodos. ship after ship landed on the island so sailors

(continues)
34 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

(continued)

could slaughter hundreds, then thousands, of dodos, which

were taken on board for food. it did not take very long
for the dodo to become extinct. the last dodo was killed
about 300 years ago. the only surviving tambalacoque tree
on mauritius also is 300 years old. no new trees have been
able to grow since the dodo disappeared.

Dodo birds were the only birds on the island of Mauritius to

feed on nuts from tambalacoque trees, and they deposited the
trees’ seeds through their droppings so that new trees could
grow. Because dodo birds are now extinct, new tambalacoque
trees do not grow on the island.
 sharing and taking 35

Their “livestock” consists of tiny nectar-sucking insects called

aphids. The aphids punch holes in leaves and other parts of plants
and suck out the sweet nectar. They digest it, turning it into a
sugary substance called honeydew. Aphid-rustling ants love to
eat honeydew. In this particular relationship, the aphids living on
a plant provide honeydew for the ants. In return, the ants pro-
tect the aphids. They attack any invader, such as a ladybug, that
tries to eat the aphids. The ants take good care of their “herd” of
aphids. When the aphids are in danger, the ants “round ’em up”
and move them to safer parts of the plant. They also “move ‘em
out” to young, fresh growth on the plant, where there is a good
supply of nectar.

PArAsites
A parasite is an organism that uses another organism—a host—
for its own benefit, even though this harms (or maybe even kills)
the host. Almost every organism can be a host for one or more
parasites. Some parasites spend only part of their life cycle with
a host. For example, some flatworms enter a host mainly to feed
for a while and lay eggs. The eggs are then released from the
host’s body, and develop outside the host. Other parasites, called
obligate parasites, spend their whole lives dependent on a host.
Tapeworms are obligate parasites that live inside a host’s intes-
tines. Tapeworms can live in humans. They feed on the food
being digested. This reduces the amount of nutrients people get
from their food. A person with many tapeworms might even die
of starvation.
Botfl ies are one species of fly that parasitizes newborn
birds. For botfl ies, timing is everything. Botfl ies deposit their
eggs in birds’ nests. The botfly eggs emerge as larvae just after
a chick comes out of its egg. Then the botfly larvae burrow
into the hatchling’s body. The botfly larvae develop and grow
36 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

This sphinx moth caterpillar has numerous wasp larvae feeding on its
body. It probably will not survive.

by feeding on the tissue inside the living bird. Infected chicks

usually die.
Wasps use a similar strategy. A wasp lands on a caterpillar
and injects its eggs into the caterpillar’s body. When the eggs
develop into larvae, they begin to eat the caterpillar. These cat-
erpillars rarely survive. Usually, one species of wasp lays its eggs
on only one species of caterpillar.
Despite the behavior of some parasites, such as those de-
scribed earlier, it usually doesn’t make sense for a parasite to kill
its host. When the host dies, the parasite dies, too. Parasites that
kill their hosts need a host for only a short period of time, not for
 sharing and taking 3

their entire lives. Most often, parasites take as much as they need
from a host without killing it.
Some parasites live outside a host’s body. These parasites
are often bloodsuckers. Anyone who’s had a dog or cat with fleas
has dealt with this type of parasite. Lice also are bloodsucking
parasites. They sometimes affect people, taking up residence in
their hair. Ticks are bloodsuckers that parasitize both animals
and people.
Certain birds are nest parasites. The most famous nest
parasites are cuckoos and cowbirds. A cowbird mother looks
for the nest of another bird in which to lay one egg. Usually,
the large cowbird egg is deposited in the nest of a bird that lays
much smaller eggs, such as a warbler. After she lays the egg, the
mother cowbird fl ies away. The tiny warbler mother does not
seem to notice that she has one enormous egg among her own
smaller ones. The warbler sits on all the eggs until they hatch.
Fairly often, the cowbird egg hatches first. When this happens,
the large cowbird chick uses it beak to tip the other eggs out of

FEARSOME BLOOD SUCKERS

A lamprey appears to be little more than a sharp-toothed
circular mouth with a tail attached. lampreys attach to fish
and suck their blood. the lamprey’s multiple rows of sharp,
inward-curving teeth make it easy for the parasite to bite
through the skin of a fish. circles of suckers surround the
teeth. they keep the lamprey firmly attached to its host’s
body. in the center of its circular mouth is the lamprey’s
tongue. the lamprey uses its tongue to stab at the wound
it has made and suck out the fish’s blood. A fish may sur-
vive having one lamprey attached to it, but will likely die if
several of these creatures drain away its blood.
38 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

the nest. If the cowbird chick hatches at the same time as the
warbler chicks, it uses its beak and its strength to toss or shove
the newborn warbler hatchlings out of the nest. The mother
warbler doesn’t notice that anything is wrong! She will feed
the cowbird chick as if it were her own. On rare occasions, a
cowbird chick winds up sharing the nest with a warbler chick.
But the larger cowbird chick demands, and gets, nearly all of
the food that the parent warblers bring to the nest. The warbler
chick usually dies of starvation. Nest parasitism has reduced
the populations of some species of warbler and other small, rare
birds.
 4
Plant-Eating Animals

PlAnts Are the eArth’s primary producers, and they grow

just about everywhere on the planet. Wherever there are plants,
there are animals that eat them. Every part of a plant is food to
some type of animal.

Flowers, seeds, And Fruit

Flowers do not exist solely for the admiration of humans. Plants
use flowers to attract pollinators. Many pollinators, such as bees,
eat the sweet nectar that the plant produces deep inside each
flower. As it sips nectar, a bee gets dusted with pollen. Pollen is
made by the male parts of the flower. The bee carries the pollen
to the next flower. There, the pollen falls on and fertilizes the
female part of the flower. After fertilization, the flower produces
one or more seeds.
Butterflies also are attracted to flowers. A butterfly drinks
nectar through a long tube that extends from its mouth. Hum-
mingbirds are nectar-eating specialists. Considering how tiny
they are, most hummingbirds have very long beaks. Some beaks
are curved; some are straight. The shape and length of a hum-
mingbird’s beak is adapted to feeding on specific types of flowers.

39
40 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

A hummingbird’s long, thin beak allows it to sip nectar from the base of
tube-shaped flowers.

Most hummingbirds sip nectar from long, tube-shaped flowers.

The nectar is so far down inside the flower that only humming-
birds, with their long beaks, can get to it. In some areas, such as
 Plant-eating Animals 41

rain forests, mice drink nectar. They also may pollinate flowers
when they move from blossom to blossom.
Not all animals that visit flowers are after the sweet nectar.
Some types of bees and beetles avoid nectar and eat the pollen.
They pollinate the flowers as they fly from one to the next.
Most animals that feed on nectar or pollen also pollinate
flowers. But some animals don’t. They are called “nectar thieves.”
Nectar thieves can get to the nectar while avoiding the pollen.
Some insects and birds, such as the Hawaiian honeycreeper, steal
nectar by making a hole below the base of a flower. The ani-
mals suck the nectar through the hole without ever touching the
pollen.
Anyone who has seen a squirrel knows that they love to eat
tree seeds, or nuts. Nuts are seeds that are encased in a hard
covering, or nut shell. Nuts contain nutrients meant to feed the
sprouting plant as it grows. Many types of rodents, including
mice and chipmunks, also eat nuts and the seeds of other plants.
Blue jays are birds that help spread nuts over a wide area.
The birds collect nuts in the fall. They bury them in the ground
to save them for the winter. They bury far more than they can
eat. Often, a blue jay may forget where it buried some of its nuts.
In spring, these forgotten nuts may sprout into tree seedlings.
Parrots and other birds also love to eat nuts, but they scatter
them in a different way. A parrot swallows an entire nut, but may
digest only part of it. After a while, the nut kernel, or seed, is ex-
pelled in the parrot’s droppings. The droppings act as fertilizer
for the kernel, which may grow into a new tree.
Most plants produce far more seeds than will ever grow
into new trees or plants. This way, at least a few seeds will take
root and grow. Some plants try to “protect” their nuts and
seeds from being eaten by animals. For example, some kinds
of bean plants produce seeds that contain nasty-tasting or poi-
sonous chemicals. Other plants have seeds with sharp spines or
42 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

Squirrels can crack open the hard shells of nuts with their sharp front
teeth and can grasp the nuts with their paws.
 Plant-eating Animals 43

irritating fuzz on them. Still other plants encase their seeds in

shells that are so hard, it’s difficult for most animals to break
them open.
Animals that eat seeds and nuts have adapted to overcome
some of these obstacles. Squirrels have strong, sharp front teeth
that can chip away the hard shell of most nuts. Their paws can
easily hold onto a nut as they nibble it. Parrots have sharp, strong
beaks for breaking nutshells. But some nutshells are so hard that
no teeth or beaks can crack them. Animals often eat these nuts
whole. Digestive enzymes break down the tough shell and then
digest part of the seed or kernel. The seed is dispersed with the
animal’s droppings and may grow into a new plant.
Some plants protect their seeds by surrounding them with
fruit. Fruit not only protects the seed in the center, it attracts
animals that will eat the fruit and aid in dispersing the seed. A
fruit consists of a mass of usually sweet, juicy flesh surrounding
a central nut, which has a shell protecting the seed inside. Most
fruits are brightly colored. The color of the fruit tells the animals
when it is ripe and ready to be eaten.
Many animals love to eat fruit. As their name suggests, fruit
bats fly through the forest, looking for trees that have the ripest
fruit. In some African rain forests, elephants are the main fruit
eaters. Sometimes the elephants pull ripe fruit off a tree with
their trunks. But most of the time, elephants eat fruit that has
fallen onto the ground. Much of this fruit was probably dropped
by fruit-eating monkeys. A monkey will grab a fruit, eat part of it,
and then drop it before reaching for another one. The monkeys’
“bad habits” are a boon to elephants and other animals. Many
animals wait below a monkey-filled tree for half-eaten fruit to
fall. These animals generally can’t climb trees, so the rain of par-
tially eaten fruit is a treat for them.
Fruit has its disadvantages as a food item. Though it is tasty,
fruit does not contain all the nutrients that most animals need
44 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

A fruit bat needs to eat more than fruit, so it will also eat flowers and
pollen of fruit-bearing trees—though this one is biting its nails. Fruit bats’
long claws allow them to hang upside down from trees
 Plant-eating animals 45

to survive. Fruit-eating animals must eat other foods. Fruit bats

eat the flowers and pollen of fruit-bearing trees. Some monkeys,
birds, and other fruit-eating vegetarian animals also eat nuts or
other plant parts to get the nutrients they need. Some fruit eat-
ers, including many monkeys and apes, also will eat meat when
they can get it.

GraZerS and ShrUB-mUnCherS

When people think of plant-eating animals, many think of ani-
mals such as deer, cattle, buffalo, horses, sheep, goats, and zebras.
Animals that feed only on plants are called herbivores.
Animals that eat grasses and other low-growing green plants
are called grazers. Horses, buffalo, sheep, goats, zebras, ante-
lopes, wildebeest, and many similar animals are grazers. Grazers
eat the leaves, stems, and flowering parts of many types of plants,
including grasses and grains, legumes, and wildflowers.

ROOTERS
the roots or root parts of plants are food for some animals.
a gopher is a burrowing animal that uses its long, strong
front teeth and forelimbs to tunnel out its home under the
ground. Gophers feed on plant roots, bulbs (short plant
stems and buds encased in fleshy leaves, as in tulips), tu-
bers (fleshy stems containing plant buds, as in potatoes),
and runners (very thick underground roots that can sprout
into new plants). Gophers rarely eat enough of a plant’s
root to kill the plant.
Porcupines are also fond of the underground parts of
plants. they supplement their main diet of leaves and fruit
with tubers and roots they dig up out of the ground with
their strong, dexterous front paws.
46 ANIMAL HUNTING AND FEEDING

Animals that eat the leaves off trees are called browsers.
Deer and moose are browsers. Most browsers eat mainly tree
leaves, but sometimes they also will nibble on grasses and other
low-growing plants.
Grazing and browsing animals have special teeth to tear
plant tissue and grind it down before they swallow it. Grind-
ing teeth are wide and flat. They look something like human
molars, but are much more powerful. A deer’s grinding teeth
are exceptionally wide. They have curved ridges for cutting up
tough plant fiber. A deer can even chew up tree twigs. Like many
browsers, deer have no top front teeth, but they don’t need them.
A deer uses its powerful tongue to hold food against the roof of

A cow’s stomach has four chambers. Each chamber contains different

bacteria that help break down and digest plant food. After plants are
eaten, the nutrients in them are available for the cow’s body to use.
 Plant-eating Animals 4

UNWELCOME HERBIVORES
leaf miners are just one type of plant-eating animal that
can do real damage to a plant. leaf miners usually are in-
sect larvae. A mother insect makes a hole in a leaf, and
then deposits her eggs. when the eggs hatch, the larvae
begin to tunnel through the leaf, eating as they go. the
leaf provides the miners with both food and protection.
the tracks of most leaf miners are easy to see. some birds
may seek out leaves with mining larvae, but most animals
avoid them.
nearly every part of a plant can be infested with min-
ers or borers. some insect larvae bore through the stem
of a plant or the bark of a tree to eat the tissue inside.
A healthy tree or plant can usually weather a mild infes-
tation of borers or miners. however, a young or stressed
plant may die if it is heavily infested.

its mouth. Then it slices through the plant tissue with its sharp
bottom front teeth. Its tongue moves the food back toward the
grinding molars.
Plant food is difficult to chew and digest. Think about it: For
plants to stand upright, they must be made of strong material.
This tough plant material is called cellulose. Browsers and graz-
ers need large, strong grinding teeth to break down cellulose.
They also need special enzymes and bacteria in their digestive
tracts to digest it. Plant food is so difficult to digest that some
animals eat the same food twice. When a cow “chews its cud,” it
is re-chewing food that has already been chewed and swallowed.
A cow bites off some plant food and then chews and swallows it.
After the food spends some time in its stomach, the cow brings it
back up into its mouth and chews it some more. A cow will bring
up cud and re-chew it with its strong grinding teeth until it can
48 animal hUntinG and FeedinG

digest it. Then it swallows the food for the last time, and the food
moves through the cow’s digestive tract.

SaFetY in nUmBerS
Almost all grazing and browsing animals live and feed in a herd,
or group. There are many reasons for living in a group. One is
protection: The larger the group, the less likely it is that any
one animal will become a meal for a predator. In a herd, some of
the animals are always on the lookout for predators. When one
member of a herd spots a predator, it lets other herd members
know by giving a warning signal of some kind. Then, the herd
members usually run away. If a predator attacks, the members of
the herd may run in different directions. This behavior tends to
confuse the attacker and lessens its chances of making a kill. Liv-
ing and feeding in a herd offers greater protection for vulnerable
youngsters that would otherwise be easy pickings for hunters.
Herds also allow animals to take advantage of a food source when
it is at its peak. Instead of individual animals wandering around
looking for food, all of the animals can exploit the best food at
the same time.
 5
The Hunters

liFe aroSe on earth more than three billion years

ago. The first life forms were single-celled, blue-green algae
that sloshed around on the surface of the sea. These organ-
isms made their own food using the energy in sunlight. They
didn’t have to worry about being eaten. But then a change oc-
curred. Some of the single-celled organisms lost the ability
to make food. They had to look elsewhere to find nourishment.
The only food available to them was the blue-green algae.
They developed a variety of ways to hunt for and consume the
algae.
Some of these ancient hunters are still with us today. The
amoeba is a single-celled organism that hunts other single-
celled organisms. The amoeba has no definite body shape. It
moves by streaming: It changes its shape by creating and ex-
tending “false feet” (pseudopodia) that move it forward. When
it comes into contact with another single-celled creature, an
amoeba begins to trap it. The shape-shifting amoeba extends
false feet that wrap themselves around the prey. Soon, the prey
is surrounded by the amoeba. The amoeba then takes the prey
into its body and digests it.

49
50 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

hunters thAt don’t Kill

Some hunters do not kill the prey on which they feed. Just about
everyone has been prey for a mosquito. Mosquitoes seek out
warm-blooded prey, such as humans, and land on them in order
to drink their blood. The mosquito makes a tiny hole in the
prey’s skin and withdraws blood. It uses the blood to feed itself
and its offspring.
Vampire bats are commonly featured in horror movies as the
ultimate scary predators. Though vampire bats do look frighten-
ing, they are among the least harmful of the world’s predators.
Like almost all other bats, vampire bats hunt at night. They hunt
for warm-blooded animals. Using two hollow, razor-sharp fangs,
a vampire bat makes tiny holes in a prey animal’s skin. Then the
bat sucks blood until its hunger is satisfied. Most of the time,
vampire bats don’t seriously harm their prey. A bat bite rarely, if
ever, kills the prey. A prey animal gets a small bite, but it may be
harmed only if the bat that bites it carries a disease that it may
transmit to the prey.

FindinG PreY
Most animals must go looking for food. One of the first rules of
successful predation is knowing where to look. It helps to know
a prey’s habits. Large predatory mammals know that their prey
need to drink water. So for lions and other predators, waiting for
prey near a water hole is a good hunting strategy. Predators also
learn when particular prey animals come to drink, so they are
waiting at the right time.
A successful predator observes and learns about the habits
of its prey. Birds that eat caterpillars know that their prey can be
found on the leaves of a particular species of tree at a certain time
of day, and only when the leaves are new and fresh. This helps
birds zero in on the right trees at the right time.
 the hunters 51

WAITING TO BE EATEN?
considering that the whole world is one big restaurant, it
should come as no surprise that some predators hunt and
eat passive feeders. sea slugs, which are mollusks, eat a
variety of passive feeders. they slowly make their way over
coral reefs, using their pumplike mouths to suck the coral
animals out of their shell-like cocoons. sea slugs also feast
on sea anemones. they are not hurt by the stinging cells on
the sea anemone’s tentacles. in fact, sea slugs eat the ten-
tacles. they then incorporate the stinging cells into cells on
their back. sea slugs use these stingers to repel predators.
Parrotfish also feed on coral animals. Parrotfish use
their powerful beaks to chip away the hard cocoons.
starfish use the suckers that line each of their five
arms to pull apart shellfish, such as mussels and clams.
while a clam remains stuck to a solid surface, the starfish
grabs each side of its shell with an arm. the starfish uses
its powerful muscles to pull the shell apart. then it eats
the animal inside.

A parrotfi sh has a powerful beak, which is useful for cracking

hard cocoons to get the coral animals inside them.
52 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

using senses
Animals learn about the world the same way as humans do—they
use their senses to understand their environment. Though all
animals have the same five senses that people have (and some
have more than five), most predators use one, or maybe two,
highly developed senses to find and catch prey.

Sight
When a person is said to be “eagle-eyed,” it means that he or
she has amazingly sharp vision. Eagles and hawks soar high
above the land, floating on warm masses of air called thermals.
The thermals keep them aloft; they don’t need to use ener-
gy flapping their wings. As they float on the thermals, eagles
scan the ground below for prey. An eagle or hawk can iden-
tify a small mammal, such as a rabbit, from more than a mile
away. Once the bird spots its prey, it swoops down toward it. As
a hawk nears its target, it extends its long, powerful talons. It
grabs the prey and lifts it into the air. Eagles and hawks carry
their prey to a high spot, such as a rock on a mountainside or a
nest in the top of a tall tree. Holding the prey with its talons,
the eagle or hawk rips away bits of its flesh with its powerful
beak.
Most big cats also have highly developed vision that they use
for hunting. Lions skulk around water holes, their eyes glued to
the herding animals that come there to drink. Lions, and similar
large predators, use their eyes to analyze the fitness of the dif-
ferent animals in the herd. They’re experts at spotting a prey
animal’s weakness, such as old age, extreme youth, or lameness.
Anyone who has a pet cat knows that cats have acute eyesight. A
cat can detect the slightest movement that might betray the loca-
tion of a prey animal. Once a cat spots a mouse or bird, it watches
the prey with intense concentration.
 the hunters 53

Birds such as swifts and swallows swoop through the air in

graceful flight that seems, to the human eye, to be quite random.
Actually, these birds are preying on insects. They can spot in-
sects flitting through the air and change course to catch them
on the wing.
Visible light is only a small part of the entire electromag-
netic spectrum. Some animals can see light waves that are in-
visible to humans. For example, bees have keen vision in the
ultraviolet range, where light waves are shorter than the light
we can see. Flowers that are pollinated by bees often have ul-
traviolet “guidelines” on the petals that humans cannot see. But
bees can see these guidelines, and they follow these pathways
into the flower to eat the nectar.
Pit vipers probably deserve the prize for “super-normal” vi-
sion. Below their eyes, pit vipers have two pits that contain heat-
sensitive membranes. The membranes can “see” infrared (short
wave) images at night. Infrared images change depending on the
temperature of an object: A cool object gives off less infrared radi-
ation than a warm object. As a pit viper slithers along the ground
at night looking for prey, it uses its infrared vision to “see” the
heat given off by a prey animal, such as a mouse. The snake’s in-
frared vision is so acute that it can sense a temperature difference
to within a few thousandths of a degree. Once a prey animal is
detected, the snake silently slinks up to it and devours it.

Taste
Pit vipers and other snakes also can “taste” the air. When rattle-
snakes famously flick out their forked tongues, they are literally
tasting the air around them. Each snake has a pouch on the roof
of its mouth called a vomeronasal organ, or Jacobson’s organ, that
can recognize the “taste” of a nearby prey animal. The snake’s
flicking tongue picks up particles in the air and then carries them
54 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

A rattlesnake can use its tongue to taste the air for nearby prey. This
Mojave rattlesnake in Arizona is in a defensive posture.

to the pouch. A sensory organ in the pouch tells the snake if prey
is nearby.

Scent
Many animals hunt using their keen sense of smell. A wolf can
smell a prey animal, such as an elk or a moose, from more than
one mile away. Weasels and similar small mammals also use their
keen sense of smell to find food.
Polar bears use their acute sense of smell to recognize the
breath of a seal emerging from a hole in the Arctic ice. A polar
bear can smell a seal’s breath from more than three miles away,
 The Hunters 55

even if the seal hole is buried under three feet of snow. Once the
polar bear catches the scent, it uses its sense of smell to find the
seal hole. The bear will wait patiently near the hole for a seal
to poke its nose out. Then the bear grabs it with its long, sharp
claws, drags it onto the ice, and eats it.
Deep ocean water may not seem like the best place to de-
tect odors. Yet sharks have such an acute sense of smell, they can
smell blood that’s miles away. Only a few drops of blood in the
water will do it. The shark’s brain identifies the odor and signals
“food” to the shark, which seeks out the bleeding prey.

Hearing
Owls are among the most sharp-eared hunting animals. In ad-
dition to having acute hearing, owls have ears that can move
to hear sounds coming from any direction. An owl can hear
an insect moving through blades of grass at night. It can hear
the footfalls of a mouse on the ground. When it detects prey,
an owl takes fl ight. Its wings are shaped and feathered in such
a way that they make no noise. The silent owl swoops down on
its prey and grabs it with its talons. Then it carries off the prey
to eat it.
Bears have poor eyesight, but keen hearing. In several na-
tional parks in the western United States, hikers are advised
to wear bells in remote parts of the park, where bears live.
If a hiker suddenly appears in front of a bear, the bear may
panic and attack. The bells allow bears to hear approaching
hikers while they are still far away. Usually, the sound of a bell
will send a bear scurrying away. This may not be a great way
to see a grizzly bear, but it’s a fi ne way to avoid being attacked
by one.
One of the champion sound-hunters is the desert-dwell-
ing, foxlike fennec. A fennec’s ears are nearly half the size of
its body. It uses these enormous ears to help cool its blood
56 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

The giant ears of a fennec help it hear potential prey.

during hot desert days. It also uses its ears to fi nd food. A fen-
nec’s hearing is so acute that it can hear a beetle moving in a hole
underground. It can hear the movement and even the breathing
of a gerbil in an underground burrow. The fennec hunts with
its head down and its ears turned toward the ground. When it
has located prey, the fennec uses its powerful front legs to dig
up its dinner.

Touch
Passive hunters use touch to find food on the ocean floor. Among
fish, touch is a common means of detecting prey. Fish have a line
of highly sensitive cells that run lengthwise along their bodies,
from gills to tail. It’s called the lateral line. The cells in the lat-
eral line are sensitive to changes in water pressure. Just as waves
 the hunters 57

BOUNCING SOUND
Bats and dolphins are in a class by themselves when it
comes to using hearing to find food. Both types of ani-
mals use echolocation to locate objects. when an insect-
eating bat leaves its cave for its nighttime hunt, it gives
off high-pitched bursts of sound. the sound waves travel
through the air until they hit an object. then they bounce
back to the bat. the bat detects the echoed sound waves
using a special organ. this organ tells the bat how far
away the object is, what type of object it is, how big the
object is, if the object is moving, and in what direction it’s
moving. when a bat detects a tasty insect with its wing,
the bat sends out faster pulses of sound. this helps the
bat zero in on the insect. the folds and flaps of skin on a
bat’s face are adaptations that help it receive the echoing
sound waves.
dolphins, too, use echolocation to find prey, and to ori-
ent themselves under water. dolphins emit high-frequency
clicks. when they detect prey, they start sending out more
clicks—as many as 500 per second. dolphins have a sen-
sory organ that interprets the echoes. the organ tells them
the location, size, and speed of the prey.
Both bats and dolphins use sound waves at high fre-
quencies that human ears cannot hear. to people, it seems
that these animals are silent, even though they are making
a high-frequency racket.

form around a stone thrown into a pond, waves form when a fish
swims. These waves create the slightest change in water pressure.
A fish’s lateral line detects these changes. Fish can tell whether
the changes come from prey or some other source. If it’s prey, the
fish will swim in the direction of the pressure change, looking
for the prey.
58 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

the riGht weAPons: huntinG tools

Finding prey is a great start, but it doesn’t mean much if an ani-
mal cannot catch, kill, and eat the prey. Predators have a wide
variety of “tools,” or physical adaptations, which help them feed.

teeth and Fangs

Plant-grinding herbivores have broad, flat teeth. Carnivores—
animals that eat only meat—need teeth for killing prey and
ripping apart their flesh. Just about all carnivores have fangs:
long, pointed incisor teeth. Wolves, coyotes, and dogs; lions,
tigers, and cheetahs; foxes and fennecs; bears; and even insect-
eating rodents, such as the short-tailed shrew, have fangs for
sinking their teeth into and then ripping apart a prey animal.
Mammals are not the only predators that use fangs for hunt-
ing. Venomous snakes have long, sharp, hollow fangs that are
attached to poison-producing glands. When the snake strikes a
potential prey, it sinks its fangs into the animal. Venom flows
through the fangs to paralyze or kill the prey. The fangs of the
monstrous viperfish, which lives on the cold, dark ocean floor,
are intended to impale any prey that may have the misfortune
to wander near it. The viperfish has fangs on both its upper
and lower jaw. The tips are hooked to keep prey from getting
away.
Predatory spiders, such as tarantulas, have fangs, too. Like
snakes, the tarantula’s fangs are hollow and deliver a dose of
paralyzing poison. Black widow spiders have venom so strong
that it can kill a human. Yet the bite of a black widow is noth-
ing compared with that of the funnel web spider of Australia.
This spider’s venom is one of the most powerful of any ani-
mal in the world. If a person is bitten by this spider and not
 the hunters 59

The viperfi sh has a hinged jaw, which enables it to eat large prey.
60 animal hUntinG and FeedinG

treated immediately, death from heart failure occurs in about

two hours.
Aside from fangs, other carnivore teeth contain ridges and
points that help these animals tear apart their fleshy food. Inci-
sors, premolars, and molars each have a function in cutting, slic-
ing, ripping, or pulverizing fresh meat.

Brute Force
Sharp fangs and flesh-ripping teeth would be useless if a predator
did not have a jaw powerful enough to sink those fangs deep into
its prey and hold on. Most predators have jaws strong enough
to crush a prey animal’s windpipe, to snap its spine in two, or
even to crush its skull. The jaws are strong enough to allow the
hunter to drag the prey—which in some cases weighs hundreds
of pounds—to a quiet area, where it can eat in peace.
If prey animals are not killed instantly, they will fight to
save themselves. Hunting animals must be strong to win these
struggles. In addition to large jaw and neck muscles, most
predators have powerful leg muscles to either chase or restrain
prey. Pythons are snakes with powerfully contracting muscles
throughout their bodies. A python will kill prey by wrapping
itself around an animal and squeezing. The animal either suffo-
cates because it can’t expand its lungs to breathe, or it is crushed
to death. Then the snake eats the prey whole. A python is able
to swallow a small deer in one long gulp. Anacondas also kill
prey this way.

Claws, talons, and Beaks

Predatory birds have talons; predatory mammals have claws. Most
claws and talons are made of the same stuff as human fingernails,
though they usually are much harder and sharper. Mammal claws
and bird talons generally curve downward. When the predator
clamps down on prey, the claws or talons curve into the flesh for
 the hunters 61

a better hold. In some mammals, claws can be drawn back into

flaps of skin on the paws.
Some seashore and marine animals also have claws, or pin-
cers. Many species of crabs have a pair of claws with spiny edges.
The spines help the crabs hold onto prey. The sharp tips of the
claws allow crabs to rip apart prey. Lobsters live on the seafloor,
and they also have pincers that they use to capture and shred
prey.
Bird beaks come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depend-
ing on the diet of a particular bird species. Swifts and swallows
have long, thin beaks for spearing and eating flying insects. Birds
of prey, such as hawks, have strong, hooked beaks for ripping

A black skimmer fi shes by skimming its larger lower beak through the
water.
62 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

“FISHING” FOR BUGS

chimpanzees are smart and agile. they have learned how
to prepare a plant stem and use it as a tool to hunt ter-
mites. making a “termite-fishing rod” is not as easy as it
may sound. chimps are very particular about choosing just
the right type of stem for termite hunting. they prepare
the stem by removing its leaves. then the chimps care-
fully insert the “fishing rod” into a small hole in a termite
mound. when the chimps slowly withdraw the stem, it is
covered with termites, which the chimps promptly nip off
with their lips. the process is repeated until the chimp has
eaten its fill.
this procedure may sound simple, but it’s not. scien-
tists who have studied the chimps and tried to do their
own termite fishing failed miserably.

This female chimpanzee is preparing a stick to use as a tool in

fi shing for termites.
 the hunters 63

animal flesh. Woodpeckers have thick, pointed beaks suited to

hammering holes in tree bark in their quest for underground and
above ground insects.
Fish-eating birds have a variety of beaks, too. Herons have
long, pointed beaks that allow them to spear small fish in shal-
low water. An oystercatcher’s beak is powerful enough to ham-
mer open an oyster shell. A black skimmer’s beak is unusual. The
lower beak is longer and wider than the upper. The black skim-
mer flies low over the water with its mouth open and its lower
beak “skimming” the water. When the larger lower beak scoops
up a fish, the bird quickly closes its mouth and eats its prize.

hUntinG Behavior
For a predator to succeed, its prey must be unaware that it is
about to become a meal. Patience is necessary. Stealth—moving
secretly and almost invisibly—is also required. Lions and other
big cats stand stock-still as they watch potential prey. When a
lion moves in on a prey animal, it inches forward silently. At the
right moment, the lion lunges with power and ferocity. The ele-
ment of surprise is key.
Owls also use patience and stealth when hunting. An owl
waits until its prey is in an open area where it can be easily caught.
The owl’s silent wings allow it to scoop up the prey before the
animal realizes what’s happening.
Most predators rely on patience and stealth, but a few do ex-
actly the opposite. The European stoat, a kind of weasel, weighs
only about 0.6 pounds (0.3 kilograms), but it hunts rabbits that
weigh 10 times as much. A stoat creeps through the grass until
it’s near a rabbit. Then it suddenly sits up and begins to “dance,”
leaping up and down and swirling around as if chasing its own
tail. The stoat does somersaults and back flips. The rabbit sits
64 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

transfixed. While the rabbit is frozen in wide-eyed amazement,

the stoat leaps at the rabbit and sinks its teeth into the back of the
rabbit’s neck. This cracks the rabbit’s skull, killing it. A stoat can
feast on one rabbit for many days.
No matter how stealthy a predator is, it must reveal itself
when it begins to attack its prey. Once a predator reveals itself,
prey try to run away. So speed is important for hunting success.
Wolves can run as fast as 20 miles per hour (32.2 km/hr) in pur-
suit of prey, but they can’t sustain this speed for long. If a wolf
decides that it will not be able to catch a prey animal, it gives up
the chase to save energy for the next try.
The cheetah is a relatively small “big cat” that lives in Africa.
The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world. It can run
at a speed of 70 miles per hour, although it cannot maintain this
speed for long.
There are so many examples of interesting feeding behaviors
among predators that there isn’t space to describe them all here.
But here are a few examples. Some types of sea gulls eat mussels
and other shellfish that are protected by thick shells. The gulls’
beaks are not strong enough to break open the shell. So the gulls
fly high into the air with a shell and then drop it onto rocks. The
impact cracks open the shell. Then the gull lands next to the
broken shell and eats its meal.
Otters that live in the ocean are marine mammals that enjoy
crabs, oysters, clams, and other shellfish. A sea otter cannot crack
open these shells by itself. A hunting otter always has a rock
tucked securely in its armpit. When it finds a shellfish, the sea
otter floats on its back and lays the rock on its stomach. Then the
otter grabs the shellfish with both “hands” and slams it against
the rock until the shell is cracked open.
The ferretlike mongoose uses a related tactic to crack open
the eggs that it steals for food. It throws each egg on the ground,
like a child bouncing a ball. Once an eggshell is smashed, the
mongoose can eat the nutritious food inside.
 the hunters 65

A sea otter can easily eat clams and other shellfi sh by smashing them
open. Sometimes it will even swim carrying a rock under its armpit, so it
can use the rock to smash shells.

For quite a while, people thought that no animal could

hunt and kill a porcupine. Wildlife biologists now know that
there are predators that have learned how to overcome the por-
cupine’s painful quills. Fishers, bobcats, and wolverines can kill
porcupines. The predator creeps up on a porcupine, lunges at
it, and fl ips the porcupine onto its back. Before the porcupine
can right itself, the predator rips open the porcupine’s soft belly
with its claws.
66 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

SNAKES UNHINGED
A snake is able to swallow eggs and animals much larger
than itself because it can unhinge its jaws. most species of
snake have a hinge between their upper and lower jaws.
when a snake catches large prey, it uncouples the hinge.
then it opens it mouth around the prey. the snake’s upper
jaw is ridged with teeth, and the right and left sides of the
jaw move independently. the snake uses its upper teeth
to grab onto the prey. then the snake moves each side of
its jaw forward, bit by bit, over the prey. in this way, the
snake “walks” its jaw over the prey until the animal is in-
side its mouth. then the prey makes slow progress down
the snake’s throat toward its stomach. muscles along the
snake’s throat help push the prey down.

Snakes—like this corn snake that is eating a mouse—unhinge

their jaws and essentially “walk” them over their prey in order
to swallow them whole.
 the hunters 67

makinG the kill

Most prey animals, especially small ones, are eaten alive. Snakes,
insect-eating birds, many fish, and a host of other predators sim-
ply swallow their living prey whole. Pelicans are water birds that
have enormous pouches under their lower bills. When a pelican
has filled its pouch with small fish, it simply swallows the still-
squirming mass in one gulp.
Larger prey usually cannot be eaten whole or alive: They
are too big and too powerful. Even a relatively small mammal
will fight and struggle to fend off a predator. Most predators kill
larger prey before beginning to feast on it.
Big cats kill their prey quickly. A cat will bring down a prey
animal by leaping onto its back, sinking in its claws, and then
dragging the animal to the ground. Once the cat has the prey
down, it clamps its powerful jaws around the animal’s neck. This
action quickly crushes the prey’s windpipe or breaks its neck.
The prey is killed instantly.
Wolves, African wild dogs, and hyenas take much longer to
kill prey. These animals hunt in packs. They surround and sub-
due a prey animal. Sometimes, wolves will use their powerful
jaws to break a prey animal’s neck prior to eating it. But most
often, they eat their prey alive. A pack of wild dogs or hyenas
surrounds the prey and pulls chunks of flesh off its body, usually
beginning with its hindquarters and legs.

Cooperation: Group hunting

Though most animals are solitary hunters, some animals are
more successful hunting in groups. Some hunt in groups for
safety reasons. Penguins feed in groups because there’s safety in
numbers. It’s less likely that an individual will be killed by preda-
tors if there are many other penguins around. However, pen-
guins do not cooperate to catch fish. Each penguin fishes alone.
68 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

Some animals do cooperate to catch prey. Wolves, wild dogs,

and hyenas hunt in packs. Female lions, called lionesses, cooper-
ate to bring down large prey, such as buffalo or zebras. They
spread out in a line over a fairly wide area in which they know that
prey will appear (for example, around a watering hole). Crouch-
ing low in the grass, the lionesses inch forward toward a herd of
prey, watching them intently. At some point, one of the lionesses
determines that a prey animal is in a good position. She leaps out
of the grass and charges. The panicked prey begins to run away
from the charging lioness. But the hunt is planned in such a way
that as the prey flees the charging lioness, it runs into the other
lionesses. The waiting lionesses attack and kill the prey.
Most cats hunt alone. But cooperation among hunting lion-
esses improves the cats’ hunting success. A lion or other big cat
that hunts alone will have one successful kill for every seven at-
tempts. When lionesses cooperate, they catch prey one out of
every two attempts. Of course, lions that hunt together must
share their meal, while a lone lion does not have to share. Still,
the greater success of cooperatively hunting lionesses must make
this behavior worthwhile.
 6
Generalists and Specialists

there Are some animals that will eat just about anything.
Most people, for example, eat a wide variety of foods. People are
omnivores: animals that do not specialize in eating one type of
food. People can eat meat, as well as many kinds of plants. People
can’t digest grass and other tough plant products, but the human
diet is filled with variety.
Although having a varied diet might seem to be an advan-
tage, most animals are not omnivores. They have evolved diges-
tive systems that can handle only meat or only plants, but not
both.
One of humans’ closest relatives, however, is an omnivore.
Chimpanzees are apes that eat mostly leaves, nuts, and fruit.
They also eat termites, which they “fish” for using special sticks.
Yet, when chimps crave meat, insects just won’t do. Chimps love
meat, and they actively hunt and eat small animals, such as liz-
ards. They also steal eggs from birds’ nests. From time to time, a
group of chimpanzees may have a hankering for a real meat meal
that impels them to search out other game. One of a chimpan-
zee’s favorite foods is the flesh of other monkeys, particularly the
red colobus monkey.

69
0 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

Chimps live and hunt in groups. A group of chimps will

cooperate to hunt colobus monkeys. Several large male chimps
climb up near a group of colobus monkeys feeding calmly in the
treetops. The chimps surround the monkeys on three sides. Then
they attack. The colobus monkeys cannot climb down because fe-
male chimps are waiting for them. So the colobus monkeys rush
through the treetops in the only direction open to them. There,
another large male chimp is hiding among the leaves. This high-
ranking male grabs the first colobus monkey he can, and uses
his powerful jaw to break its spine. When the rest of the chimps
see the successful kill, they scream in excitement. The male car-
ries the colobus monkey down to the forest floor, where all the
chimps will share in the feast.
Another omnivore may be much more familiar to people. A
raccoon will eat just about anything. Raccoons eat seeds, nuts,
fruit, and other plant parts. They also hunt for worms by listen-
ing for the rustling sound created as they move through grass or
leaves. Raccoons also love small fish, shellfish, and frogs. They
will spend hours near a stream, using their humanlike hands to
try to catch food.
Raccoons’ hands can manipulate objects precisely and they are
very sensitive. Raccoon hands are so sensitive that a raccoon can
tell if a fruit is ripe or not just by touching it. A raccoon can pull a
delicate worm from its hole without damaging or breaking it.
Raccoons also use their hands to get into things they
shouldn’t. Most adult raccoons can easily open garbage cans
and select delicacies that humans have thrown out. Raccoons
have been known to open doors and let themselves into houses,
where they look for food. People have found a raccoon standing
in front of an open refrigerator door, peering inside like a child
choosing a snack. Luckily for humans, raccoons cannot pick
door locks.
 Generalists and specialists 1

Brown bears are probably the largest of all omnivores. In the

spring, their diet consists largely of plant food, such as grass, tasty
roots and tubers, and skunk cabbage. In summer, they will feast
on all sorts of berries. Brown bears supplement their vegetable
diet by digging up mice, squirrels, and marmots from their bur-
rows. Bears have six-inch long claws and powerful arms, so dig-
ging up these small animals is a cinch for them. If a brown bear

Raccoons will eat just about anything—including potato chips.

2 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

lives near the seashore, it may also wander down to the beach to
dig up small animals buried in the sand. The brown bears that
live in Yellowstone National Park have developed a taste for cut-
worm moths, which eat wildflowers. During the day, the moths
sleep under rocks. Unearthing the moths is no problem for the
bears. Bears will climb thousands of feet up into the mountains
to devour moths, eating as many as 30,000 a day.
Brown bears are huge animals. An adult male may weigh
1,000 pounds. They also are strong and fast. A brown bear eas-
ily can outrun a human. Brown bears use their large size and
immense strength to hunt and kill mountain sheep, moose, and
deer. Because a bear uses so much energy pursuing these prey,
they are not a regular part of its diet.
The most famous bear-feeding scenes occur in Alaska.
There, Alaskan brown bears gather along the Mackenzie River,
among other rivers, to eat salmon. The salmon swim up the riv-
ers from the oceans to spawn, or mate. The bears form groups
near small waterfalls and rapids. Here, salmon must leap out
of the water to continue their swim upstream. Despite its poor
eyesight, a bear uses its dexterity and perfect timing to grab
a leaping salmon with its large claws or with its mouth. Bears
also wait near shallow water and catch salmon as they swim by.
Bears are usually solitary creatures, but during this time of the
year, dozens of bears may gather at one spot to fish. There is so
much food available that the bears rarely fight.
Sometimes an animal that normally is not omnivorous be-
comes so when living around people. In the wild, sea gulls eat
fish or shellfish. As humans have moved in on the gulls’ natural
habitat, the birds have learned to take advantage of human left-
overs. Gulls are a common sight at landfills, or garbage dumps,
that are close to rivers or seashores. The gulls will eat just about
any food that people have thrown away.
 Generalists and specialists 3

DIFFERENT FOOD
FOR DIFFERENT AGES
Frogs are one of the only animals that change their diet as
they mature, or grow older. A young frog, called a tadpole,
eats only plant food. its mouth and digestive system make
it a strict vegetarian. As the tadpole matures into an adult
frog, its body changes dramatically. the adult frog’s body
is adapted to eating insects, which it snares with its long
tongue. the adult frog cannot eat plants. in the natural life
cycle of a frog, the animal changes from being an herbi-
vore to a carnivore.

Tadpoles, or young frogs, are herbivores. When they mature

into adult frogs, they become carnivores.

sPeciAlists
In contrast to omnivores, feeding specialists can eat only one type
of food. An herbivorous specialist can eat only one type of plant.
A carnivorous specialist eats meat from one type of animal.
4 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

Giant pandas are one of the world’s most famous and beloved
specialists. Pandas live in the bamboo forests of China. They eat
only bamboo, which is a type of giant grass. Bamboo is one of the
toughest plants to eat. Its stem is strong and woody. It can grow
50 feet tall. The panda has evolved large, flat molar teeth to grind
down this tough material. The panda also has a unique finger,
similar to a thumb, which allows it to grab the bamboo stalk so it
can chew on it like celery.
Koalas are tree-living Australian animals that eat the leaves
of eucalyptus trees. These trees also are called gum trees. The
leaves contain poisons that would kill most other animals. A ko-
ala’s digestive system is immune to the toxins. Not only is the
koala immune to the leaves’ poison, but it also is one of the only

The toothless anteater eats ants using its long, curved snout and its
even longer tongue.
 Generalists and specialists 5

MEERKATS VS. SCORPIONS

the meerkat is an endearing, weasel-like animal that lives
in one of the harshest environments on earth: the Kalahari
desert. Food is very hard to come by in this hot, dry habi-
tat. Animals that live here have adapted to eating things
that other animals would avoid.
meerkats eat scorpions, which are relatively common
in the Kalahari. scorpions, which are related to spiders,
have one of the most poisonous and deadly stings of any
animal in the world. however, meerkats have devised a
way to hunt and eat them. when a meerkat finds a scor-
pion, it bites off the dangerous stinger at the end of its
tail. then the scorpion is defenseless, and the meerkat can
eat it. sometimes, meerkats do get stung. though the sting
is painful, the meerkat has developed a resistance to the
powerful poison. it will not die when it is stung. the sting
may keep the meerkat from eating this particular scorpion,
but soon it will be fine and hunting its deadly food again.

In order to eat a scorpion, a meerkat will bite off its stinger.

Though they sometimes still get stung, meerkats have devel-
oped a resistance to the stingers’ poison.
6 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

animals with a digestive system adapted to get nutrients from

eucalyptus leaves.
There are other animal specialists. One is the snail kite, a
bird that feeds on one species of snail. Another is the anteater,
which feeds only on ants and termites. The anteater has no teeth.
Instead, it has a long snout and a long tongue. At night, when the
ants are asleep, the anteater uses its powerful front legs to break
into an ant nest. As the sleepy ants try to discover who or what
has broken into their home, the anteater slurps them up. The
anteater will eat hundreds of ants from each nest it invades. Ants
are not that nutritious, so anteaters don’t have much energy. An
anteater spends most of the day curled up on the ground, sleep-
ing. It is kept warm by its large, furry tail, which it drapes over
itself like a blanket.

liFe on the edGe

When a habitat is stable—its plants and animals are thriving, its
weather is normal, and there are no disruptions—specialist ani-
mals do well. However, specialists are vulnerable to changes in
their environment. For example, koalas are an endangered spe-
cies because human development (buildings and roads) and wild-
fires have destroyed large numbers of eucalyptus trees. Being
dependent on a single source of food can lead to starvation if that
food source disappears. Sometimes, a specialist animal can adapt
to eating a different, though similar, food. Too often, though,
when a specialist’s food disappears, it starves. The species may
even go extinct.
Giant pandas are highly endangered because humans have
destroyed their bamboo forest habitat. Yet, pandas always have
been vulnerable. All bamboo plants of the same species flower
at the same time. After they have produced flowers, the mature
bamboo plants die. Bamboo plants may flower only once every
 Generalists and specialists 

Specialist animals, like koalas, depend on a single food source. Koalas

are endangered because they depend on eucalyptus trees, which have
been destroyed in large numbers due to human activity and wildfires.
8 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

15 years, or even once every 100 years. But when a particular

species of bamboo produces flowers and dies, it poses a serious
problem for pandas. Once all the mature bamboo plants have
died, the pandas might have to migrate to another part of the
bamboo forest, where a different species of bamboo is still avail-
able. Even in the best of times, this is a serious problem for pan-
das. Today, with the added pressure of human development and
a much smaller forest in which to find food, the pandas are in
serious trouble. If China’s population and development continue
at today’s pace, the giant panda may become extinct in the wild.
Animals such as the giant panda, which resembles a large,
furry teddy bear, are easy for people to care about. That’s why
“adorable” animals are the best known of the endangered special-
ists. But, in fact, most endangered specialists are insects and the
plants on which they feed. In tropical rain forests, some plants
can be pollinated by only one species of insect. If one of these
species of plants is destroyed when the rain forest is cut for farm-
ing or logging, the insect that feeds on this plant’s pollen or nec-
tar may disappear, too. If pesticides kill all or most of this species
of insect, the plant cannot be pollinated and may go extinct.
This type of relationship occurs in the deserts of the south-
western United States, where each species of yucca tree can be
pollinated only by one species of yucca moth. If human activity
destroys one yucca tree species, then the moth that feeds on it
also will disappear. If one species of yucca moth dies out, the spe-
cies of tree that it pollinates also will die out.
Not all endangered species are feeding specialists, but many
are. Feeding specialists live “on the edge,” meaning that they are
always at greater risk for extinction or a population crash, com-
pared with animals that have a varied diet.
 7
Scavengers and Decomposers

SometimeS Children are told to “clean their plates,” or

eat everything they were served. In the wild, predators don’t eat
every morsel of prey, but nothing is wasted. Many animals “clean
up” leftovers or break down organic material, which can then be
used by other living things.

SCavenGerS
Scavengers eat dead prey instead of killing and eating live prey.
They may eat the remains of prey left over by predators. They
also may feed on the bodies of animals that have died of other
causes. Hyenas and vultures are two common scavengers.
Scavengers have a bad reputation among some people be-
cause they feed on dead animals. Yet, they provide a necessary
service in the natural world. Dead bodies rot and attract disease-
causing organisms, such as certain bacteria. If scavengers did not
consume most of the remains of dead animals, their rotting bod-
ies could contaminate the land and nearby water sources. Scav-
engers manage to speed up the process of decay by ripping flesh
into smaller bits that are more easily broken down.

79
80 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

Hyenas and vultures are both scavengers that feed on dead animals.
This spotted hyena in Kenya is chasing away vultures from the meal it
found.

Hyenas are one of the most common scavenging mammals.

Though hyenas do hunt and kill prey themselves, they also feed
on the leftovers of other predators, especially lions. Hyenas pay
close attention when lions are on a hunt. If many lions surround
the kill, the hyenas will wait for them to abandon the prey. Then
the hyenas move in to feed on what’s left. Sometimes, though,
only one or two lions may be feeding on a kill. If the hyena troupe
is large, it may continually harass and attack the lions until the
large cats give up their meal to the hyenas. They will feed on
parts of the prey that lions don’t eat.
Hyenas do lots of “clean-up” work in their native Africa.
On that continent and in almost every other part of the world,
 scavengers and decomposers 81

vultures or similar birds feed on dead animals, which also are

called carrion. Vultures have keen eyesight; like eagles and
hawks, they keep a lookout for a meal far below. Vultures also
watch one another. When one vulture heads for the ground,

OUR NATIONAL SCAVENGER

when the Founding Fathers discussed which bird should
represent the united states, many opposed using the bald
eagle. though it is a magnificent-looking bird, it has some
habits––such as feeding on carrion––that some of our ear-
ly leaders found offensive.
Benjamin Franklin thought that choosing the bald ea-
gle as our national bird was a terrible mistake. he sug-
gested the turkey. though the turkey has many wonderful
qualities, people did not feel that it looked the part, and
the bald eagle supporters overrode Franklin’s opinion.

Many people were opposed to having the bald eagle represent

the United States because it is a scavenger. It typically uses one
talon to hold its prey and one to stay on its perch as it tears off
pieces of dead prey with its beak.
82 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

other vultures know that it has found food. They follow. That’s
why it seems that in the blink of an eye, a mob of vultures ap-
pears at the site of a dead animal. Other scavenging birds, such
as marabou storks and griffons, will watch and follow vultures.
One vulture swooping toward a fresh carcass will start a chain
reaction in which other scavenging birds and land animals all
head for the dead animal. Even predators take advantage of the
“I found food” signal provided by a descending vulture. Lions
and other predators will feed on animals that have died of natu-
ral causes.
Most vultures feed on a dead animal’s soft tissue, such as
muscle and organ meat. Some vultures specialize, feasting only
on skin and tendons, for example. All vultures and most other
scavenging birds have strong, sharp, curved beaks for tearing
flesh. Some vultures have long necks that allow them to delve
deep inside a carcass to pull out organs.
Animals compete for carrion. A large group of feeding vul-
tures may be chased from their meal by a lion. The vultures wait
patiently for the lion to eat its fill. When the lion leaves, the vul-
tures move in again. However, they may be chased away again,
this time by marabou storks. These birds can grow to more than
5 feet (1.52 meters) tall, with a wingspan of more than 8 feet (2.44
meters). Instead of a curved beak, a marabou stork has a long,
straight bill that can dig into a carcass and rip out large chunks
of flesh. Small vultures feeding on carrion will be displaced by
large vultures, large vultures by marabou storks, marabou storks
by hyenas, and so it goes. Usually, each scavenger leaves some
food uneaten, so there’s generally a meal left for a variety of car-
rion-eating animals.
Animals die in every habitat—and other animals are there to
make meals of them. At the seashore, crabs are one of the most
abundant carrion eaters. Crabs use their claws to pull off and
eat bits of a dead animal’s body. On the seafloor, lobsters often
 scavengers and decomposers 83

When it comes to feeding on carrion, marabou storks can displace

large vultures, but can also be displaced by hyenas. These marabou
storks in Masai Mara, Kenya, are feeding on a carcass with their long,
straight bills.

scavenge. The bodies of dead animals decay rapidly in watery

environments. Here, deposit feeders are important actors in the
breakdown of carrion.

decomPosers
Organisms that break down dead bodies or waste are called
decomposers. Insects, worms, bacteria, fungi, and micro-
scopic organisms are among the world’s many decomposers.
84 ANIMAL HUNTING AND FEEDING

Many organisms on and under the ground help break down dead organic
material into nutrients. Plants take in these nutrients through their roots.
Herbivores eat the plants, predators kill the herbivores, and the cycle
continues. Decomposers are vital in keeping the nutrients that organisms
need cycling from soil to plants to animals and back again into the soil.
 scavengers and decomposers 85

Decomposers break down animal and plant tissue. They also

break down the leaves that fall in autumn until they become a
part of the soil. Leaves and other organic material are composed
of many substances, including nitrogen and proteins. As differ-
ent decomposers “work on,” or eat, dead organic matter, they
release nutrients into the soil. Decomposing organic material is
so widespread that decomposers have their own complex food
chain.
After scavengers have completed their work, decomposers
take over part of the task of breaking down organic tissue. Flies
lay their eggs in decaying meat. Fly larvae, or maggots, feed on
the rotting flesh. While maggots feast, bacteria grow on the car-
cass. The bacteria feed on the carrion and release nutrients. Other
bacteria, insects, and fungi—such as mushrooms—decompose the
flesh that is in contact with the soil. These organisms consume
the flesh and—using enzymes—break it down into nutrients. Each
type of organism feeds on dead material and breaks it down into
one or more parts. Some of the first decomposers turn dead plants
or animal matter into sugars or starches. Later on, other decom-
posers will break down tissue into nitrogen, proteins, and other
nutrients. Each decomposer has an important role to play.
Some decomposers specialize in the breakdown of dead ani-
mal tissue. Others, including many types of fungi, specialize in
breaking down dead plant tissue. In any forest, there are dead
trees lying on the ground. Many have fungi growing from them.
If a person touches the dead tree, wood-eating insects may scurry
from beneath the rotting bark. Microbes also are at work, break-
ing down cellulose and other hard-to-digest parts of the tree.
Beneath the tree’s trunk, millions of decomposers, including in-
sects, worms, and microbes, eat and digest the organic material.
Digestion breaks down the plant tissue, which is then incorpo-
rated into and enriches the soil.
Decomposition of dead organic matter takes place in
every environment. However, some conditions are better for
86 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

This log is from a tree that died and fell in the forest. The fungi grow-
ing on it break down its tissues. Insects and microbes also digest and
decompose the decaying log, which eventually will become part of
the soil.
 scavengers and decomposers 8

decomposition than others. Warm, wet environments speed up

the process. Cold or dry environments slow it down. A hiker
is more likely to fi nd animal bones in the desert than in a rain
forest.
Animal waste is another important food source for de-
composers. Most animals don’t absorb all the nutrients in the
food they eat. Their waste products contain leftover nutrients.
Some insects and microbes spend their lives breaking down
animal feces into organic particles and nutrients. Plant-eating
animals—such as horses, sheep, cows, and chickens—produce
feces, or manure, that is chock-full of nutrients. Manure makes
great fertilizer: It enriches the soil and helps to grow healthy
plants. That’s why farmers and gardeners work manure into the
soil in which they grow vegetables and other food. Plants can’t
grow in “pure” manure. Manure must become part of the soil.

ALL THAT EARTHWORMS DO

earthworms occur in almost every type of soil on earth. in
temperate regions, there may be hundreds of earthworms
in each square yard of soil. some people think that earth-
worms are “icky.” these people may not know that all
land-based life owes its existence to earthworms.
earthworms move through the soil ingesting organic
matter. As food moves through an earthworm’s gut, it is
digested and then eliminated as a nutrient-rich substance
that enriches the soil. earthworms also allow air to circu-
late through soil. As they wiggle their way down from the
surface, earthworms create “air tunnels” that allow air to
move deep into the soil. this speeds up decomposition, so

(continues)
88 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

(continued)

“airy” soil is richer in nutrients and organic matter. Also, by

churning up the soil, earthworms prevent it from becom-
ing compacted. scientists say that without earthworms, it
is likely that the soil could not support plants. it would be
too heavy and compacted for roots to grow. it also would
not have the air that roots need to function properly, and
it would have too few nutrients to support plant life. Be-
cause all life depends on plants, the land might be lifeless
without earthworms.

Earthworms are important for keeping soil rich with nutrients.

As they feed on organic matter, they leave behind nutrient-rich
substances for the soil.

Worms, insects, and microbes break down the manure, and

its nutrients are released into and mixed with the soil. Plants
absorb the nutrients they need with their roots.
 8
Agents of Change

since the First blue-green algae floated in the oceans billions

of years ago, life on Earth has evolved to produce all of the plant
and animal species that exist today. Over billions of years, various
species of organisms have existed. Over time, as conditions
changed, they also changed or disappeared. The dinosaurs are
probably the most famous of all ancient extinct animals. They
dominated every landmass for millions of years. Many scientists
believe that dinosaurs died out when an asteroid (a large rock from
space) about 6.2 miles (10 km) wide struck Earth about 65 million
years ago. Scientists believe it may have landed in Mexico because
a crater of a similar size (about 112 miles, or 180 km, in diameter)
and age was found there in 1991. The impact of the asteroid would
have caused an earthquake 1,000 times more powerful than any
ever recorded. Nearby seas would have boiled, and winds from
the shock would have reached nearly 250 miles per hour (400 km/
hr). Most likely, a tsunami swept around the globe, and dust par-
ticles may have blocked out the sun for years. All of these effects,
as well as others, changed living conditions so dramatically that
dinosaurs (and many other animals) could not survive.
It does not take a natural disaster, such as an asteroid im-
pact, to cause plant and animal populations to change, or evolve.

89
90 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

Changes can occur because of feeding relationships, such as the

close interaction between a predator and prey, or intense compe-
tition for limited food resources.
The process of evolution describes how species change
over time. It is also the process by which new species are cre-
ated. Evolution is driven by two factors: changing environmental
conditions and random changes in an individual’s genes. Genes
are the parts of cells that pass on traits from one generation to
the next. Offspring inherit many of their parents’ traits. For ex-
ample, human children get genes from their parents that affect
hair color and eye color, height, foot size, nose shape, whether or
not the child has dimples, and many other characteristics. Most
plants and animals inherit traits in the same way.
The genes an animal gets from its parents may make it more
or less likely to survive to have its own offspring. A deer born
with genes that makes it lame will probably not live long enough
to mate and have offspring. A predator will likely kill it when it
is very young. However, a deer born with genes that help it to
run faster than other deer probably will survive and produce off-
spring. This deer has greater fitness than other deer. If it passes
its “speedy” genes on to offspring, they will inherit this useful
trait and also will have greater fitness.
Changes in genes happen randomly. Most animals have
thousands of genes. Sometimes, the DNA that makes up a gene
will change. The altered gene may be passed on to offspring.
Most of the time, the change has no effect on the offspring or
its ability to survive. Sometimes, a change in a gene can decrease
fitness, as in the example of the lame deer. Other times, a change
in a gene can increase fitness, and make offspring more likely to
survive than those who don’t have the changed gene.
A change in a gene usually increases fitness when the envi-
ronment also has changed. For example, suppose that lampreys
find their way into a lake that never had lampreys before. The
 Agents of change 91

THE POWER OF
A VISUAL FLOWER
the flower of an Australian tongue orchid looks like a fe-
male wasp to males. in fact, the male wasp cannot resist
landing on this flower and trying to mate with it. As it
does, it picks up pollen from the orchid. when it flies to
the next orchid and tries to mate with its flower, it trans-
fers the pollen and fertilizes the orchid. As this example
shows, in a place where there are many plants competing
for the attention of pollinating insects, there is a definite
advantage to developing traits that are so attractive to a
specific species of insect.

lampreys would parasitize most of the fish, many of which would

die. But one fish is born with a changed gene. This change added
a terrible-tasting substance to this fish’s blood. Lampreys try
to parasitize this fish, but because it tastes terrible, they wind
up avoiding it. This fish survives and produces offspring. Many
of its offspring get the same changed gene, so lampreys avoid
them, too. Over time, the descendants of this fish dominate life
in the lake, and the lampreys may even die out because of a lack
of good-tasting hosts.
What would have happened if lampreys did not invade this
lake? In that case, the fish that had the changed gene would not
have any benefit over the other fish. The changed gene would
not help it in any way. A changed gene helps an organism only
if it gives it some survival advantage over other organisms of the
same species.

Predators and Prey

Predators and prey influence one another’s traits. Predators with
traits that help them catch, kill, and eat prey will be successful,
92 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

and pass on the genes that code for those traits. Of course, prey
animals don’t want to be eaten. Prey animals with traits that help
them get away from predators will pass on the genes that code
for those traits. As one trait spreads through a prey population,
predators coevolve: Their population changes in response. In this
way, predators and prey affect which changed genes are helpful
and are passed on from one generation to the next.
Cheetahs are cats that hunt small deerlike animals on the
African savanna. The prey can run fast. Over time, faster chee-
tahs were more successful, and passed on their “speedy” genes.
As a species, cheetahs got faster and faster because the fastest
ones caught the most prey and produced the most offspring.

As a cheetah runs, it stretches out, bends its back, and then moves its
back legs in front of its front legs. This amazing flexibility has made the
cheetah the world’s fastest land animal.
 Agents of change 93

As the cheetah became faster, the prey evolved ways to avoid

the predator. Prey that ran in a zigzag pattern were less likely to
be caught. So they were more likely to pass on their genes, in-
cluding the genes that coded for the zigzag running pattern.
Then, by chance, one cheetah was able to quickly change
direction while running. The cheetah that had this ability was a
better hunter, survived longer, and passed the genes for this abil-
ity on to its offspring. Eventually, all cheetahs zigzagged when
they chased prey.
But then, some prey also leapt high in the air while running
and zigzagging. It was easier for these prey to avoid being eaten
by cheetahs. They were more likely to survive and pass on their
genes, including the ones for leaping high in the air.
At some point after that, a cheetah was born that could
leap while it was running. This cheetah could more easily catch
prey. So this cheetah had more food and could produce more
offspring. Over time, all cheetahs were able to leap into the air
to grab prey.
Predators and prey are often changing. The changes some-
times help a predator or prey increase its chances of surviving.
Predators and prey are agents of change, or evolution, for each
other. As one changes, the other often changes in response. This
is called coevolution.
It’s possible that gene changes might never have given the
tiny deer—or other cheetah prey—the ability to zigzag. In that
case, cheetahs would not have developed a zigzag running style,
either—unless it somehow helped catch more prey. Genes spread
through a population when they provide a survival advantage. If
there’s no survival benefit, the gene will likely not spread.

competition
Competition for food is also an important agent of evolution.
The African savanna contains millions of acres of grassland.
94 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

Grazing animals generally do not need to compete with one an-

other for food.
On the other hand, there are not that many trees on the
savanna. Browsers—animals that eat tree leaves—must compete
with one another for a limited food supply. Some scientists spec-
ulate that competition for this food source may have led to the
evolution of the giraffe’s long neck. Naturalist Charles Darwin
and other scientists suggest that the giraffe’s long neck may have
evolved over time. However, no one really knows for sure how or
why the giraffe got its long neck and long legs.
Most browsers on the savanna do not have long necks. They
eat low-hanging leaves. A long time ago, giraffes also had short

DARWIN’S FINCHES
during a storm thousands of years ago, one species of bird
called finches was blown on the wind or carried on a float-
ing piece of wood from south America to islands in the
Pacific ocean. some islands had lots of nectar-producing
flowers. others had many seeds and nuts.
charles darwin collected 13 species of these birds
during his voyage to the Galapagos islands in the 1830s,
but he was unclear about their species. later researchers
returned to the island and sketched images of the birds.
All of the finches in the following picture were descended
from the original birds that had been blown onto the is-
lands. over a long period of time, changes in their genes
shaped the finches’ beaks. those that ate seeds or nuts had
short, strong beaks. those that ate nectar had long, curved
beaks. the researchers found that over time, a single spe-
cies of finch developed into many different species.
 Agents of change 95

necks. Then, by chance, one giraffe was born with a slightly

longer neck. It could eat leaves that were higher on the trees,
where other browsers could not reach. This giraffe got more
food and could produce more offspring. Over time, these “long-
neck” genes continued to change, giving giraffes longer and
longer necks. The genes for longer necks were passed on from
one generation to the next because they increased the giraffes’
fitness. Giraffes with longer necks did not have to compete for
food with other animals. Other browsers ate leaves nearer the
ground. Only giraffes could eat leaves from the treetops, so gi-
raffes no longer had to compete for food. The giraffes with
longer necks could eat more food, avoid competition, survive

Each finch species has a different beak shape that adapts it

to eating a certain type of food. Corresponding to the images,
these finches eat (1) seeds; (2) buds and fruit; (3) leaves; and
(4) insects.
96 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

longer, and have more offspring. In this way, a longer neck gave
giraffes a survival advantage. It became part of the genes of all
giraffes, and today every giraffe has a long neck.
Competition for food has resulted in important changes
in many species. For example, scientists suggest that there may
have been a time several million years ago when the ancestors
of the panda competed with other animals for grasses. Then, by
chance, one panda was born with changed genes that enabled its
stomach to digest bamboo. This hungry panda may have taken a
nibble of bamboo and been able to digest it. This panda’s genes
were passed on to future generations of pandas. So pandas began
to eat a little bamboo, which no other animal could eat. Over a
million years or more, many panda genes changed. Some gene
changes gave pandas the extremely strong, grinding teeth that
helped them chew bamboo. Other genes changed to give pandas
a digestive system that could use bamboo as a food. Over time,
random changes in the pandas’ genes turned them into a species
that could survive only on bamboo. By eating bamboo, the pan-
das no longer had to compete with other animals for food.
In 1994, university scientists discovered several insect species
that took specialization to unheard of extremes. These research-
ers found that some insects can feed only on the plants on which
they are born. Thrips, for example, are insects that can feed only
on the needles of the pine tree on which they hatched. They
are adapted to digesting the particular chemicals and nutrients
in just that one tree. Of course, other pine trees are very simi-
lar, but their chemicals and nutrients are just different enough
to make them inedible by these highly specialized insects. The
scientists found that this extreme form of specialization occurs
only among organisms that, like insects, reproduce very rapidly.
Rapid reproduction allows genes to change quickly to adapt to
a highly specific environment. Super-specialist insects are also
 Agents of change 9

not very mobile. That is, they don’t move around a lot, but are
content to live their lives on one plant.
Every species on earth has developed in response to the con-
ditions in its environment. Finding and eating food are crucial to
an animal’s survival. Feeding has a strong impact on the evolu-
tion of animal species.
Glossary
adapt To develop traits and behaviors that help an organism sur-
vive in its environment
dna (deoxyribonucleic acid) A long string of material that makes
up genes. DNA contains instructions for making proteins.
dexterous Skillful
echolocation Sending out sound waves that bounce off objects
and return to the sender. Bats and dolphins use echolocation to find
food and move around in their environments.
ecosystem The environment in which an organism lives, includ-
ing all other living things, as well as nonliving things, such as soil,
rocks, and weather
enzymes Proteins that break down food
evolution The process in which populations or species change
over time, due to interactions between randomly altered genes and
environmental changes
extinct An extinct species no longer exists
Food web A complex diagram of the feeding relationships among
organisms
habitat The part of an ecosystem in which an organism lives
kernel The inner part of a nut
larvae (singular, larva) The “younger” form of some animals, usu-
ally insects. Larvae emerge from eggs and undergo extreme changes
in appearance before they become mature.
metabolism The process of breaking down food into energy, and
using that energy or storing it as fat

98
 Glossary 99

nectar The sweet liquid produced by flowers and eaten by in-

sects, bats, or birds
offspring The “children,” or young, of animals
omnivore An animal that will eat a wide variety of food, includ-
ing both plant and animal food
organisms Living things
Parasite An organism that lives by using the food that is ingested
by its host; in a parasitic relationship, the parasite benefits but the
host is harmed.
Passive feeder An animal that does not actively seek out its
food
Photosynthesis The process in which plants make their own
food using the energy in sunlight to change water and carbon diox-
ide into sugar and oxygen
Plankton Very tiny, sometimes microscopic, plants and animals
that live in water
Pollen The male sex cells of a flower. Pollen can be compared to
the sperm in male animals.
Pollination The process in which an animal, or other agent such
as the wind, carries pollen from one flower to the female part of
another flower
Predator An animal that hunts and eats other animals
Prey An animal that is hunted and eaten by a predator
Primary producer Plants that form the base of nearly all food
chains and food webs on earth because they do not eat other organ-
isms, but make their own food via photosynthesis
Species A group of animals that have the same characteristics and
can mate and produce fertile offspring
Bibliography
Attenborough, David. The Large Mammals. Princeton, N.J.: Princ-
eton University Press, 2002.
Grice, Gordon. The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators. New York:
Delacorte Press, 1998.
Lippson, Alice Jane and Robert L. Lippson. Life in the Chesapeake
Bay. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984.
McFarland, David, ed. The Oxford Companion to Animal Behavior.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.
Owen, Jennifer. Feeding Strategy. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1982.

100
 Further
Resources
Animal Behavior. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, n/d. ISBN:
0-8094-9658-5
Barre, Michel. Animals and the Quest for Food. Milwaukee: Gareth
Stevens Publishing, 1998.
Bramwell, Martyn. Mammals: The Small Plant-Eaters. New York:
Facts on File, 1988.
Fredericks, Anthony D. Fearsome Fangs. New York: Franklin Watts,
2002.
Graham, Anna. Fierce Predators. New York: Bearport Publishers,
2006.
Hickman, Pamela. Animals Eating. Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2001.
Kalman, Bobbie. How Do Animals Find Food? New York: Crabtree
Publishing, 2001.
Knight, Tom. Fantastic Feeders. Chicago: Heinemann, 2003.
Landstrom, Lee Ann & Karen I. Shragg. Nature’s Yucky. Missoula,
Mont.: Mountain Press Publishing, 2003.
Riley, Peter. Food Chains. New York: Franklin Watts, 1998.
Swanson, Diane. Feet that Suck and Feed. New York: Greystone
Books, 2000.
———. Teeth that Stab and Grind. New York: Greystone Books,
2000.
Woodward, John, ed. Extreme Eaters. New York: Blackbirch/Thom-
son Gale, 2005.

101
102 animal hUntinG and FeedinG

weB SiteS
Animal Behavior and Ethology
http://cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/animal_behavior_and_
ethology.htm
A jumping-off point for learning about all aspects of animal feeding
and other behaviors.

Animal Defenses Against Predators

http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~simmons/ysesp/comeco5.htm
This site contains information and pictures that show the different
strategies that prey animals use to avoid being eaten by predators.

Animal Planet
http://www.animalplanet.com.au/predators_prey/index.shtml
A brief discussion of the relationship between predators and prey,
with links to more information.

Decomposers
http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/decomposers/
page.html
This Web site contains an informative discussion of decomposers
and their important role in ecosystems. The site includes pictures
and explanations of the role and behavior of various decomposer
species.

Food Chains and Webs

http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm
The site contains definitions and discussions of food chains and
webs, including diagrams and examples.

Nature Works
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep10.htm.
Brief overviews of different feeding habits, including herbivores,
carnivores, omnivores, etc. The site also has links to more de-
tailed information about specific animal species.
 Further resources 103

The Open Door Web Site

http://www.saburchill.com/chapters/chap0015.html
An easy-to-understand discussion of herbivores, what they eat, their
physiology and behavior.

Predators: Nowhere to Hide

http://www.science.fau.edu/sharklab/media/bbc/predators_
prog2.html.
An interesting site that briefly discusses predators and then provides
interesting examples of predatory behavior for different species.

Predator Conservation
The Truth about Predators
http://www.predatorconservation.org/predator_info/
predatorinfo.html
An in-depth look at predators and how they function in an eco-
system. The site has links to information about endangered and
threatened predators.

Scavengers
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0768543.html
A brief overview of scavengers, including pictures and descriptions
of specific animal scavengers.

What is an Herbivore?
http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/marssim/simhtml/
info/whats-a-herbivore.html
This is an informative site with lots of pictures. The site also has
pages on carnivores, omnivores, decomposers, pollinators, and
plants.
Picture Credits
PAGE
9: Ismael Montero Verdu/ 59: Paul A. Zahl /Getty
Shutterstock Images
11: © Infobase Publishing 61: Norman Bateman/
13: © Infobase Publishing Shutterstock
16: Peter Arnold, Inc./Alamy 62: Norma Comes/
17: Joy M. Prescott/ Shutterstock
Shutterstock 65: Daryl Dyck/
18: © Infobase Publishing Shutterstock
21: Yuri Arcurus/Shutterstock 66: Joel Kempson/
22: Stephen Coburn/ Shutterstock
Shutterstock 71: Lisa F. Young/
25: JoLin/Shutterstock Shutterstock
27: David Hunley/ 73: Thomas Mounsey/
Shutterstock Shutterstock
32: Jonathan Heger/ 74: Danita Delimont/Alamy
Shutterstock 75: AfriPics.com/Alamy
34: The Natural History 77: iofoto/Shutterstock
Museum/Alamy 80: Paul Banton/
36: Scott Camazine/Alamy Shutterstock
40: iDesign/Shutterstock 81: Nick Biemans/
42: Karen Givens/ Shutterstock
Shutterstock 83: Ewan Chesser/
44: Philip Date/Shutterstock Shutterstock
46: © Infobase Publishing 84: © Infobase Publishing
51: Stephen Kerkhofs/ 86: Neale Cousland/
Shutterstock Shutterstock
54: Rusty Dodson/ 88: Pakhnyushcha/
Shutterstock Shutterstock
56: Christian Musat/ 92: Photobar/Shutterstock
Shutterstock 95: © Infobase Publishing

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 Index
A bats breakdown, 83
adaptation, 9–10, 39 sense of hearing, 57 caterpillars, 7, 50
Africa bees cats, 37, 52
ants in, 30–31 and pollination, 39, chameleons, 26
forests, 43 41, 53 cheetahs, 92–93
agents of change, birds, 69 hunting, 64
89–97 baby, 25 teeth, 58
algae, 15, 31, 49, 89 beaks, 61, 63 chicken, 87
alligator, 28–29 eating habits, 25, chimpanzees
amoeba, 49 41, 45 eating habits,
animal ranchers, 33, hunting, 50, 52–53, 69–70
35 60–61, 63, 67 hunting, 62
anteater, 76 talons, 60 chipmunks, 41
antelopes black skimmers, 63 clams, 51, 64
eating habits, 32, blood suckers, 37 filter feeding, 16,
45 blue jays, 41 18–19
ant lions, 26 bobcats, 65 claws, talons, and
apes botflies, 35–36 beaks, 60–61
eating habits, 45, brown bears cleaning up, 31–33
69 eating habits, 71–72 coevolution, 93
aphid-rustling ants, brute force, 60 competition, 93–97
33, 35 buffalo cooperation
eating habits, 45 between plants and
B as prey, 68 animals, 10, 30–31
bacteria group hunting,
decomposer, 83, 85 C 67–68
barnacles camouflage, 26, 28–29 corals, 31–32, 51
cement, 17 carnivores, 12 cowbirds, 37–38
filter feeding, examples of, 73–74 cows
16–18 teeth, 58, 60 eating habits, 32,
tentacles, 18–19 carrion, 81–82 45, 47–48, 87

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106 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

coyotes F food web, 12, 14

teeth, 58 fantastic filterers, 21, foxes
crabs, 61, 64, 82 23–24 teeth, 58
cuckoos, 37 feeding Franklin, Benjamin,
cutworm moths, 72 passive, 25 81
reasons, 8 frogs
D relationships, 14 as food, 70
Darwin, Charles, fennec eating habits, 73
94–95 sense of hearing, fruit
decomposers, 83–88 55–56 eating, 43, 45
deer, 90, 92–93 teeth, 58 fruit bats, 43
eating habits, 9–10, fertilization, 39 fungi
12, 45–46 filter feeders decomposer, 83, 85
dinosaurs, 89 examples of, 16–24
DNA, 90 finches, 94–95 G
dodo bird, 33–34 fish, 63, 91 Galapagos Islands, 94
dogs, 37 as food, 70, 72 generalists. See
teeth, 58 sense of touch, omnivores
dolphins 56–57 giant pandas, 96
sense of hearing, flamingo, 21 eating habits, 74,
57 flatworms, 35 76, 78
fleas, 37 giraffe, 94–96
E flesh-eating plants, Glacier National Par,
eagles 27–28 12
as predators, 52, 81 flies, 28 goats
earthworms, 87–88 maggots, 85 eating habits, 45
echolocation, 57 floating stingers, gophers
ecosystem, 12 20–21 eating habits, 45
electromagnetic flowers grazers
spectrum, 53 and pollination, 39, habits of, 32–33,
elephants 41, 45, 53 45–48
eating habits, 8, food griffons, 82
12, 43 chains, 12 grizzly bear
elk, 54 energy, 7–8, 10 eating habits, 12
enzymes searching for, 10, sense of hearing,
food breakdown, 12, 14 55
10 sources, 8 teeth, 58
evolution, 90, 93, 97 waiting, 15–29 grubs, 63
 index 10

H tools, 58, 60–63 lizards, 69

habitat, 72 using senses, 52–57 lobster, 61, 82
stable, 76 without killing, 50
Hawaiian hydroids, 20 M
honeycreeper, 41 hyenas, 67–68 Mackenzie River, 72
hawks scavengers, 79–80, marmots, 71
as predators, 52, 82 meat-eaters. See
61, 81 carnivores
hearing, hunting I meerkats, 75
with, 55–56 insects, 12, 32, 91 metabolism, 8
herbivores decomposer, 83, mice
examples of, 73–74 85, 88 as prey, 41, 52, 55,
and flowers, 39–40, eating habits, 30, 71
45 41, 47, 96 microbes, 85, 87
and fruits, 39, 43, as food, 25–26, 28, mollusks, 51
45 53, 55, 58, 61, 63, mongoose, 64
grazers, 32–33, 67, 69 monkeys
45–48 eating habits, 43,
and kernels, 41 J 45
plant-grinding, 58 jellyfish red colobus, 69–70
rooters, 45 passive feeders, moose, 54
and seeds, 39 20–21 mosquitoes, 50
shrub-munchers, mussels, 51
45–48 K filter feeding,
unwelcome, 47 Kalahari Desert, 75 16–19
herd koalas mutualism, 30
protection, 48, 52 eating habits, 74
herons, 63 N
horses L nectar, 39–41, 53
eating habits, 45, lamprey, 37, 90–91 nectar thieves, 41
87 larvae, 15 nest parasitism, 37–38
hummingbirds, 39–40 lice, 37
hunting, 1049–68 lions O
behavior, 63–65 eating habits, 7, 12 ocean
finding prey, 50, as predators, 7, 50, currents, 15, 18, 20
52–57, 69–70 52, 63, 67–68, food in, 15–20
passive, 56 80, 82 tide, 18
strategies, 50 teeth, 58 offspring, 50, 90
108 AnimAl huntinG And FeedinG

omnivores praying mantises, 28 scavengers, 79–83

examples of, 69–72 predator, 12 scent, hunting with,
organisms, 15 cleaning up, 31, 80, 54–55
owls 82, 83 scorpions, 75
hunting, 63 and hunting, 48–68 sea anemones, 20
sense of hearing, and prey, 90–93 tentacles, 51
55 protection from, sea gulls, 64, 72
oxen, 32 28, 48 seals, 54–55
oxpecker, 32–33 repelling, 51 sea nettles, 20
oystercatcher, 63 tools, 58–63 sea otter, 64
oysters, 64 prey sea slugs, 51
filter feeding, 16, capturing, 29, secondary consumers,
19 49–58, 64, 66 12
habits, 50 seeds and nuts
P population, 92 eating, 41, 43, 45
parasites, 35–38 and predators, 63– kernels, 41
parrotfish, 51 68, 79, 90–93 sharing and taking,
parrots, 41, 43 protection, 28 30–39
passive feeders, 15– trapping, 24 sharks, 31
21, 51 primary consumers, sense of smell, 55
pelicans, 67 12 sheep
penguins, 67 primary producers, eating habits, 45,
photosynthesis, 10, 31 10, 12 87
pitcher plants, 28 plants, 39 shrews, 58
pit vipers, 53 shrimp
plankton R burrowing, 19
feeding on, 15, rabbits eating habits, 32
18–19, 21, 23–24 as prey, 52, 63–64 sight, hunting with,
plant-eating animals. raccoons 52–53
See herbivore eating habits, 70 snail kite, 76
polar bears rattlesnakes, 53 snails, 76
sense of smell, rooters, 45 snakes
54–55 anacondas, 60
pollen, 39, 41, 45 S fangs, 58
pollinators, 39 safety as predators, 53–
porcupines, 65 in numbers, 48 54, 66–67
eating habits, 45 salmon, 72 pythons, 60
 index 109

vomeronasal organ, taste, hunting with, wasps, 36, 91

53 53–54 weasels
sound teeth and fangs, 58, hunting, 63
bouncing, 57 60 sense of smell, 54
specialists termites, 76 whales
feeding, 73–78 fishing, 62, 69 baleen, 21, 23–24
nectar-eating, 39 thermals, 52 blue, 21
spiders thrips, 96 fin, 21
black widow, 58 ticks, 37 humpback, 21
fangs, 58 tiger filter feeding, 21,
funnel web, 58 eating habits, 10, 23–24
tarantulas, 58 12 right, 21
trap-door, 24, 26 teeth, 58 wild dogs, 67–68
webs, 24 touch, hunting with, wildebeest
sponges 56–57 eating habits, 45
filter feeding, 16, traps and lures, 24, wolves
19 26–28 and hunting, 64–
squirrel turkey, 81 65, 67–68
as food, 71 sense of smell, 54
eating habits, 41 U teeth, 58
starfish, 51 University of Rode woodpeckers, 63
stinging ant, 30–31 Island’s Sea Grant worms
stoats, 63–64 Program, 46 decomposer, 83, 88
storks as food, 25, 70
marabou, 82 V sea, 19–20
sundews, 28 vampire bats, 50 wrasse, 31
survival venus flytrap, 28
and food, 8 viperfish, 58 Y
swallows, 53, 61 visual flower, 91 Yellowstone National
swifts, 53, 61 vultures Park, 72
scavengers, 79,
T 81–82 Z
tambalacoque tree, zebras, 7, 32
33–34 W eating habits, 45
tapeworms, 35 warbler, 37–38 as prey, 68
About the Author
natalie Goldstein has been an educational writer for 20 years.
She has written numerous publications for young readers on top-
ics such as oceanography, viruses and disease, grassland and for-
est ecology, and climate change. Goldstein has master’s degrees
in education and environmental science.

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