Carnivorous animals eat meat.
The first thing we are going to do is know the etymological origin of the term carnivore that concerns us now. In this case, we can state that it is a word that derives from Latin, exactly from carnivorus , which can be translated as "meat eater." Word that is made up of the following elements:
-The noun caro , which means “portion of meat.”
– Vorus , which can be translated as “he who feeds.” A word that derives from the Latin verb “vorare”, which is synonymous with “devour”.
Carnivore concept
The adjective carnivore is used to describe beings that eat meat . The concept includes those animals that, although their diet includes other options, can also eat meat.
It can be said that the notion of carnivore is used in opposition to herbivore (animals that eat plants) and frugivore ( food based on fruits). Animals that eat meat, plants and fruits are called omnivores .
Carnivorous plants consume insects.
The feeding
In the case of carnivores, they obtain the nutrients they need for their subsistence and development through the consumption of meat , whether by preying on other animals or eating carrion. Living things that only eat meat are often called strict carnivores .
These animals have a digestive system prepared for the digestion of meat. Many of them have teeth to tear their prey, although there are carnivores without teeth (such as emperor penguins).
Dogs, cats, wolves, whales, eagles, snakes, octopuses and spiders are carnivorous animals. The current human being ( Homo sapiens ) is considered omnivorous, although the primitive species of the genus Homo were vegetarian.
Classification of carnivores
Although there are many classifications of carnivores, we cannot ignore that one of the most significant is the one that divides them into two when it comes to animals:
-Scavengers , which are characterized because they feed on other animals that are already dead. Specifically, they do not hunt them but wait for them to die before eating them. This would be the case of vultures or hyenas, for example.
-Predators , who monitor their prey to pursue and hunt them. To perform this function, some will choose to hunt alone while others choose to do so in a pack. Of course, predators are divided into several groups: supercarnivores, which are those that only eat meat; the occasional carnivores who eat meat only when they have trouble finding vegetables; and the flexible ones. The latter are those who, although they mostly eat meat, can also ingest plants, seeds or fruits, for example.
a type of plant
Carnivorous plants, finally, are plant species that satisfy their nutritional requirements by consuming insects .
There are more than three hundred types of carnivorous plants, which use different types of traps to catch their prey. Some have sticky hairs on their leaves so that animals, once they come into contact, cannot escape.