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Omnivore

Last Updated: February 01, 2008 | Related resource areas: Wildlife Damage Management

an animal that eats both meat and plants. Omnivores have both canines and molars, but neither tooth is as specialized as those found in carnivores or herbivores. (People are omnivores. Compare your canines to those of your cat or dog, both carnivores. My, what big teeth they have...). An omnivore can eat meat but it can't rip flesh the way a carnivore can, for example, nor can it grind plants with an herbivore's ease. Some animals classified as carnivores or herbivores by their teeth are actually omnivorous. For example, foxes (a carnivore) readily eat large amounts of berries, while the herbivorous squirrels eat insects, baby birds, birds' eggs, and even each other—and not only when the food supply is tight.


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