Zoologists around the world are involved in the study of animal nutrition. There are not just many kinds of living creatures in the world, but very many, and they all lead a different lifestyle, eating a wide variety of foods. Predators, herbivores, omnivores, scavengers – nature does not tolerate uniformity, sometimes creating the most unusual life forms.
Tigers have enough problems finding food. According to observations, about 90% of his attacks fail. To eat, these big cats have to work hard. Saturated with blood, a leech may then not be eaten for 7-9 months. Some snakes feed 3-4 times a year. After swallowing a large enough prey, they then slowly digest it for a long time. In animals, nutrition is sometimes not moderate. Vultures, famous scavengers, for example, sometimes overeat so that they can not fly up. Hares eagerly eat various vegetables, for example, carrots and cabbage. However, parsley is of particular interest to them – they simply adore it. Rabbits, by the way, too. Snails need calcium for proper nutrition, and because of this, a funny incident happened once in France. The building was painted with paint made on the basis of chalk, rich in calcium, and soon snails devoured all the paint from the walls.
Crocodiles approach the issue of nutrition with all responsibility. Their jaws are not intended to be chewed, therefore they usually tear off pieces of meat from the prey and swallow them, but it is difficult to tear fresh meat, so they hide the prey and wait until it starts to rot. Such interesting animals as penguins calmly drink salty sea water instead of fresh. Their body simply removes excess salt and using special glands. Many snakes eat bird eggs, but the egg snake does not eat anything but them. Some species of animals can eat an amount of food equal to 20-25% of their own body weight per day. Hedgehogs on occasion willingly eat vipers, since the venom of these snakes is not dangerous for these needle-covered creatures. In some animals, nutrition should be nearly continuous. For example, a mole will die of starvation if it does not eat for at least 15-17 hours. Mold due to penicillin contained in it is deadly poisonous to many animals.
Sheep usually feeds on grass, but in Scotland, on the island of North Ronaldsay, they have long been accustomed to eating mainly algae, which the surf throws ashore. Just with good pastures there are sparse. Such a useful fruit for us as an avocado is deadly poisonous to dogs. Ruminants got their name due to the fact that they constantly chew and re-chew food. This is a necessary part of the proper nutrition process for them. Elephant teeth grind due to the fact that these animals eat rough plant foods. Their teeth are updated, but not indefinitely, and after the last of them have been grinded, the elephant usually dies of hunger if the relatives do not take care of it and do not feed it. Bats hunt and eat at night. Moreover, if one individual is sick, then relatives bring her food, preventing her from starving to death.
