The deer is a herbivore as its diet consists almost entirely of plant-based food. In fact, they are specialized herbivores as they mostly feed on certain types of plants. Deer favor plants that are low in fire but are easily digestible with high protein content. They love to eat plant matter such as herbs, buds, foliage, fruit, aquatic plants, lichens and woody shoots.
Even though deer have the specialized teeth and complex digestive tract of a herbivore, they have been known to occasionally eat meat, especially dead animals. However, despite being somewhat fickle with their vegetarianism, deer are still regarded as herbivores.
Why is deer classified as a herbivore?
Deer are considered herbivores as they almost exclusively eat plants. Like most herbivores, their teeth and stomach have evolved specifically to break down and digest plant-based food. The deer’s front teeth are small and sharp, enabling them to cut up small branches and leaves. Their molars are flat and large, with rough surfaces that can break up plant tissue. Deer also have diastema, a gap between the front and back teeth that allows plant tissue to be repositioned during chewing.
In addition, deer have a specialized four-chambered stomach. Found in some herbivores, these four chambers – rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum – help break down and digest the tough tissue and fibers in their food before being released into the body.
What kind of herbivore is deer?
Plant-eaters fall into two broad camps: grazers, which feed mainly on grass, and browsers, which take the leaves and fruit of woody plants. Deer sit in the browser group, since they prefer shrubs, fruit, twigs and leaves.
In addition, deer are classified as ruminants, like cows, goats and sheep. These animals have a four-chambered stomach and regurgitate their food from the first chamber, the rumen, and chew on it. This is known as chewing the cud and aids the digestion of tough fibrous plants.
Why do deer eat meat?
Deer have been observed eating meat from time to time. In most cases, meat eating is done opportunistically, with the deer typically consuming the carcases of small animals, birds and fish. However, on one occasion, a deer was even observed preying on a human corpse.
The exact reasons deer do this is unclear. Like cattle, deer may resort to meat eating due to hunger when there is a scarcity of plants. They may also seek to consume different nutrient sources for essential minerals..
Can deer be considered omnivores?
Although deer do eat meat now and then, they cannot be called omnivores because it is not a regular part of their lives. Their digestive systems are not built to process meat, and their teeth are not shaped to tear flesh. So they gain little from eating it and only do so on rare occasions, which is why deer are still counted as herbivores.
