Animals are not limited to eating only one type of food. In fact, many animals are omnivores, which means they consume both plants and animals. While other animals primarily eat only plants or only animals, omnivores have a diet that includes both.
Here are 20 examples of omnivores that range from the common to the exotic.
1. Bears
The omnivorous diet of bears includes both plants and animals. They eat grasses, roots, berries, and nuts in the summer and fall. In the winter, when these food sources are not available, they eat meat or carcasses.
2. Mice
As opportunists, mice will eat just about anything, including other small animals, fruit, and seeds. Their diet is also influenced by what is available in their environment. They use their whiskers and senses to navigate and find food.
3. Raccoon
From fruits to rodents, these furry omnivores have a wide range of food items on their menu. The common food in their diet includes crayfish, eggs, and rats. As agile animals, they use their sense of sight, hearing, and touch to find food and catch prey.
4. Ostrich
Ostriches mainly eat plants, seeds, or roots but will also go for lizards, insects, or other invertebrates if they have no other food options. Ostriches use their beaks to rip plants from the ground, kill small prey, and grind it in their gizzards (muscular stomachs).
5. Bearded Dragon
This fascinating lizard eats leafy veggies and sweet potatoes and has a great appetite for crickets, king worms, spiders, and mealworms. Their diet should consist of protein-based foods as well as plants to ensure they get all the nutrients they need.
6. Common Snapping Turtle
Common snapping turtles are great hunters, they will eat anything that they capture, which includes fish, smaller turtles, birds, and other small invertebrates. In the plant world, they enjoy eating aquatic vegetation such as water fern, algae, water lettuce, and yellow pond lily.
7. Pigs
Pigs devour mainly corn, fruits, and soybean meal but would also eat bugs like mayflies, which makes them omnivores. Farmers usually feed pigs nutrient-infused meals, like soybean meal or dried whey which is rich in protein.
8. Chipmunk
These cute rodents have a diet consisting of both plants and animals. Their favorite plant food includes seeds, fruits, and nuts. As for animals, they love to eat worms, insects, and bird eggs. They are not known to be picky eaters but if there’s anything to choose from, they preferably would opt for protein-rich foods.
9. Spider Monkey
Spider monkeys eat spiders, of course, but they highly munch on fruits, shoots, nuts, leaves, flowers, and seeds. Other than spiders, they also eat insects and eggs. They usually capture small insects while they hunt for the luscious plants they consume.
10. Blue Crabs
Crabs are mostly carnivores, but they also have plant options. The crab diet is composed of small fish, crustaceans, dead animals, shrimp, krill, prawns, algae, and seaweed. They use their claws to tear open their prey and eat what’s inside.
11. Sloth
Living in the rainforests, sloths are mainly plant-eaters as they consume leaves but they are known to eat insects, lizards, and bird’s eggs. Other food options include fruits, as they have a low metabolic rate and don’t need to consume much food.
12. Gorillas
These big guys are mostly herbivores as they feast on plants such as fruits, bamboo shoots, and stems but will also eat small animals like ants and termites (including termite larvae). They are strong animals that don’t need a protein-based diet because they can produce their amino acids.
13. Brown Rat
Brown rats have a variety of food preferences, mainly grains, nuts, seeds, and fruits, and are extended with fish, insects, birds, and their eggs. They also eat dead animals but only if they have no other food options.
14. Fish
These sea creatures are known to prey on shrimps, worms, mollusks, and crustaceans while eating aquatic plants. They also eat smaller fish and their diet depends on their location. Fishes can hunt prey using their ability to detect sound, vibration, and scent.
15. American Hog-Nosed Skunk
The American hog-nosed skunk has a varied diet, consisting of insects, plants, reptiles, small animals, and fruit. As nocturnal creatures, they do most of their hunting and foraging at night.
16. Crows
These noisy but intelligent birds are known to eat a wide range of food, such as leftovers, frogs, lizards, fish, chicks, eggs, and small mammals. In the plant world, they eat fruits, seeds found in cereals, and nectar.
17. Turtles
Turtles, mainly pet turtles, are omnivores. They feast on insects, vegetables, and fruits. Pellet food is also a good food option for pet turtles as it contains all the nutrients they need.
18. Squirrel
Squirrels are cute animals that mainly eat berries, nuts, seeds, and insects. They are known to be amazing climbers and would be seen leaping in the air as they parkour their way to find their next meal.
19. Coyote
These animals, which look similar to dogs, are omnivores and often hunt in packs. Their diet consists of lizards, birds, insects, snakes, cactus fruit, and flowers that are available in their location.
20. Kiwi
Kiwi is a bird that is endemic to New Zealand and is known to be an omnivore because of its varied diet. Their diet mainly consists of insects but also berries, fruits, seeds, small slugs, and snails. They are nocturnal animals and use their great sense of smell to hunt.
Conclusion
Animals have different food preferences that are dictated by their location and their capability to hunt, fight, or scavenge. Omnivores have a varied diet that includes both plants and animals. This list shows some of the many examples of omnivores, with each having a different food preference. Whenever you see an animal, take a second look and attempt to figure out what it eats – you might be surprised by what food they usually munch on.
Spider Monkey Image by: Arturo de Frias Marques, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
