Carnivore

Carnivore, general term for any animal that subsists mainly on the flesh of other animals. More specifically, it refers to any member of the mammal order Carnivora. The carnivores are at the top of the food chains that make up the food web of the earth’s life forms. They feed on herbivores, or planteaters, which in turn feed on the plants or dinoflagellates, at the bottom of the food chains, that absorb and store energy directly from the sun. Carnivores live mainly alone or in small groups and are not preyed upon except by other carnivores.

This general meaning of the term carnivore also applies more specifically to the Carnivora, except that some members of the order—many bears, for example—are omnivorous (eat both animals and plants) and may sometimes even have a largely vegetable diet. A widespread group, the Carnivora have teeth adapted for grasping and tearing, highly developed physical coordination and flexibility of behavior, and extended parent-offspring bonds. The order has been divided into two suborders: the Pinnipedia, with finlike feet, and the Fissipedia, with pawlike feet. The Pinnipedia are the sea lions and fur seals (family Otaridae); the true seals (Phocidae); and the walruses (Odobenidae). The suborder Fissipedia has two superfamilies: Canoidea (dog, bear, raccoon, and weasel families); and Feloidea (cat, civet, and hyena families).

The jaws of the Carnivora are powerful and move only up and down on a transverse hinge with none of the rotary motion found in other animals. The teeth have been adapted for the feeding habits, so that in most carnivores each jaw contains six pointed cutting teeth; two strong, sharp, recurved canines; and molar teeth that have been developed into cutting blades. The number of molars varies among the different families. The cats have only a single vestige of molar in each jaw, whereas dogs retain more molars, which they use for bone crushing. The bears (Ursidae), except for the polar bear, are omnivorous, and their back molars show tubercles on the crowns, which improve their ability to grind vegetable matter. The digestive system of carnivores is much less complicated than that of herbivores because it does not have to break down the cellulose in plant matter.