Carnivory

Carnivory is a feeding strategy in which an animal obtains food by consuming other animals, whether through hunting, scavenging, or parasitism.

Predation: An interaction in which one organism captures and consumes another. Hunting carnivores obtain food by capturing and consuming living prey.
Food web: A network of feeding relationships linking organisms within an ecosystem. Carnivores occupy consumer positions connected to prey and other predators.
Herbivory: A feeding strategy in which an animal consumes plants or algae. Herbivores obtain food from producers rather than from other animals.
Carnivorous mammal: A mammal whose diet consists primarily of other animals. Many familiar terrestrial carnivores belong to this broad mammalian group.
Trophic cascade: A chain of effects across trophic levels caused by changes in predator abundance or behavior. Changes in carnivore populations can indirectly alter plants and other ecosystem components.
Scavenging: Feeding on organisms that died without being killed by the consumer. Scavengers obtain animal food without making the kill.
Trophic level: An organism’s position in a food chain, based on how it obtains energy. Carnivory commonly places animals above the organisms they consume.
Omnivory: A feeding strategy in which an animal consumes both plant and animal matter. Omnivores combine animal food with plant-based food.
Raptor: A bird of prey adapted to capture and consume animals. Raptors illustrate specialized vision, talons, and hooked bills for animal feeding.
Predator-prey interaction: An ecological relationship in which predators consume prey and affect their populations. Carnivory creates interactions that shape prey numbers and predator survival.

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