What do animals eat? That depends on the animal. An herbivore is an animal that eats plants. A carnivore is an animal that eats other animals, or meat. An omnivore is an animal that eats both plants and animals. Black bears eat mostly plants: nuts, berries and fruit. In the fall, bears eat and drink almost nonstop to build fat for winter.

A cow eats grass. It chews its cud: food comes back up from the stomach to be chewed again. A cow's stomach has several chambers, and one is called the rumen. The rumen is the biggest compartment and holds 25 gallons or more. Tiny living things called microbes in the rumen break down the grass a cow eats.

A giraffe is a ruminant, too, with a four-compartment stomach. It chews cud, so it can chew while it walks. It eats leaves from tall trees, and its very long tongue reaches around thorns. A giant panda crushes tough bamboo with strong jaws and flat back teeth.

A giant anteater eats ants and termites. It has no teeth at all. Its tongue is about 2 feet long and flicks in and out 150 times a minute. A flamingo pumps water in and out of its bill to strain out food. Its pink color comes from the food it eats.

Hunters have their own ways to get a meal. Wolves hunt in packs, which lets them bring down large animals such as elk and moose. A python waits for food to come close. Owls swallow their prey whole.

All these meals link up. A food chain shows who eats whom. Plants are producers: they make their own food from sunlight. Many different food chains that overlap make up a food web. In the ocean, tiny floating algae called phytoplankton are the base of most food webs. Decomposers eat dead plants and animals and return nutrients to the soil.

Words to know

• herbivore: plant eater
• cud: food chewed again
• rumen: biggest stomach room
• microbes: tiny living things
• phytoplankton: floating algae

The short version

Some animals eat plants, some eat other animals and some eat both. A cow's stomach has several chambers, and tiny living things called microbes in the rumen break down the grass it eats. A flamingo strains food from water, a giant anteater has no teeth, and a python waits for food to come close.

Quick facts

• An herbivore eats plants, a carnivore eats other animals, and an omnivore eats both.
• A cow's rumen is the biggest compartment of its stomach and holds 25 gallons or more.
• A giant anteater has no teeth, and its tongue is about 2 feet long.
• A flamingo pumps water in and out of its bill to strain out food.
• A food chain shows who eats whom, and many overlapping food chains make a food web.