What Do Mammals Eat?
Mammals eat many kinds of
foods—plants, meat, fish, insects. Their teeth are designed for what
they eat. Sharp pointed teeth are best for tearing flesh, while broad
flat teeth are good for grinding up vegetation.
Walrus © Steve
McCutcheon - Visuals Unlimited
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Carnivores
Many carnivores (meat eaters), such as lions and wolves, are
fast-moving predators that can run down prey. Their long sharp
canine teeth are designed for grabbing onto and stabbing other
animals. Killer Whales (or Orcas) behave much like land
carnivores, chasing and killing seals, fish, and penguins. The
Walrus, a carnivore, rakes the ocean floor with its long tusks,
looking for clams to eat.
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Rodents
Like all rodents, beavers have long razor-sharp front teeth. The
upper teeth grip, while the lower ones gnaw. Beavers use both
sets to shave the strips of tree bark they like to eat.
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American Beaver © Pat & Tom Leeson - Photo Researchers, Inc.
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Gigantic Appetite
Powered by a tiny heart that may beat 1,000 times per minute,
shrews eat night and day, taking only brief rest periods. They
feed mainly on worms, plants, insects, and grubs.
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Northern Short-tailed
Shrew with prey. © Rod Planck
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Microscopic Diet
The largest mammals in the world eat the smallest foods. Blue
and Humpback Whales feed on tiny plants called plankton. Instead
of teeth, their mouths have large brushlike structures called
baleen. As water rushes into a whale’s mouth, the baleen strains
out the plankton.
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Humpback Whales feeding. © Francois Gohier - Photo
Researchers, Inc.
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Grazers and Browsers
Deer, Moose, and Pronghorns eat grasses, leaves, and twigs. They often
have to eat in wide-open spaces, like fields, where they feed rapidly on
large amounts of food. Then they move into safer areas and bring the
meal up from the stomach. This partially eaten mass of food is called
the “cud.” The animals then chew the cud and finish digesting it in
peace.
Moose grazing on pond grass. © Rob & Ann Simpson
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