Title: What Do Mammals Eat? A Look at Herbivores, Carnivores & More
Headings: What Do Mammals Eat? A Look at Herbivores, Carnivores & More
What Do Mammals Eat? A Look at Herbivores, Carnivores & More
What Do Mammals Eat?
Well, just about everything except leaf litter and mature tree wood is eaten by mammals somewhere.
Herbivore Mammals
Different mammals have their digestive tracts organised in different ways.
The Ruminant digestive system
Carnivore Mammals
Two spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) eating their prey in the savanna of Africa
Insectivore Mammals
Mole (Talpa europaea) is primarily insectivorous
Omnivore Mammals
Final Thoughts
Gordon Ramel

Content: They are preferentially preyed on not only by seals and otters but also by at least 3 species of bats. Insectivore Mammals
Arthropods make up almost the entire diet of most insectivore mammals such as shrews, the Microchiropterine bats, pangolins, anteaters, aardvarks and aardwolves. They also make a considerable contribution to the diets of moles, foxes, badgers, mongooses, skunks as well as many primates and rodents. Mole (Talpa europaea) is primarily insectivorous
The diets of many insectivores are often quite varied. One study of the European Mole showed that of 200 moles analysed after death: 178 had been recently feeding on earthworms,
130 on beetle larvae,
74 on adult beetles,
70 on flies,
35 on moths and butterflies,
18 on bees, wasps and ants,
52 on millipedes and centipedes,
10 on slugs and snails,
3 on mice,
19 on moles and
17 on plants. Obviously, most moles feed on a variety of substances each day, taking advantage of whatever is available. Omnivore Mammals
Omnivory is a generalist habit, one which makes its exponents more capable of living in a changing and variable habitat, or taking advantage of more than one habitat in succession. As I have already stated, mongooses and many foxes are omnivores as are bears, badgers and quite a few rodents including the very successful brown rat. Many primates are also omnivores, including mankind.