Animals and food

Plants are able to make their own food when sunlight shines on their leaves.

Unlike plants, animals, including humans, can't make their own food.

This means they need to find their nutrition by eating other things, like plants or other animals. Animals get their nutrition from what they eat.

• Blue whales can eat up to four tonnes of krill, which are tiny crustaceans, each day.

• Herbivores generally outnumber carnivores and omnivores in a habitat as they are often prey.

• Sharks can go up to six weeks without food as they have a slow metabolism, which means food breaks down much slower than normal and therefore releases energy over a longer period of time.

• The female praying mantis typically eats the male after mating.

• Some animals can be both predators and prey. Spiders for instance will eat flies and other insects, but they are in turn eaten by birds.

• Dolphins use sound to find food with echolocation.

• Human activities like deforestation, pollution, and overfishing can have huge impacts on food chains and where an animal gets its nutrition.

Animals can be placed into three different groups, based on what they eat:

Carnivores are animals, such as lions and eagles, that eat other animals.

Herbivores are animals, such as zebras or cows, that only eat plants.

Omnivores are animals, such as bears or rats, that eat both plants and other animals.

Did you know?

All mammals have a stomach which is where the food they eat is digested. A cow's stomach is divided into four compartments to help them digest the grass that they eat.

Nutrition is like fuel for our bodies. When animals eat food, their bodies break it down into smaller parts called nutrients. These nutrients help animals to grow, stay healthy, and have the energy to do all the things they need to do, like running, jumping and playing.

Herbivores: Some animals, like cows and rabbits, are herbivores. This means they eat plants like grass and leaves. These animals have special digestive systems that can break down tough plant material to get the nutrients they need.

Carnivores: Other animals, like lions and tigers, are carnivores. They eat other animals for their food. Carnivores get their nutrients from meat.

Omnivores: Some animals, like bears and humans, are omnivores. This means they eat both plants and animals. Omnivores get their nutrients from plants and other animals.

Food chains can be used to show what foods different animals eat. They also show how the energy from food moves through the chain of plants and animals.

Animals can be herbivores, omnivores or carnivores.

At any stage in a food chain, if animals do not get enough food they will starve and eventually die. If animals don't eat the right types of foods they can often become unhealthy.

Most animals don't eat more than they need, but some of our pet dogs and cats might become overweight if they eat too much – just like us!

Carnivore – An animal that eats meat. Sharks, wolves and eagles are all carnivores.

Consumers – Consumers eat plants and other animals.

Food chain – Food chains can be used to show what foods different animals eat, they also show how the energy from food moves through the chain of plants and animals.

Habitat – Where an animal or plant lives.

Herbivore – An animal that eats plants. Cows, horses and rabbits are herbivores.

Nutrition – The substances plants and animals take in as food.

Omnivore – An animal that eats both meat and plants. Bears, crows, rats and mice are omnivores.

Predator – An animal that hunts and eats other animals. Badgers are predators and will hunt mice, rabbits and insects.

Prey – An animal that is hunted and eaten by other animals. Rabbits are prey for foxes.

Producers – Plants make food using energy from the sun in a process called photosynthesis. They are called producers.

Starve – To be so hungry that something feels pain or even dies.

Have fun playing these games about the different food chains around the world.