Herbivores vs Carnivores

Let’s know about Herbivores vs Carnivores

Evolution has made carnivores higher in the food chain than herbivores, so the former need to evolve more advanced hunting skills, and the latter need to evolve more effective defensive measures. No matter what, the road of life is always accompanied by scenes of chasing each other. In the experience of life and death escape, carnivores vs herbivores each maximize the ability of their organs.

Today we will talk about the organ evolution of carnivores vs herbivores.

Eye

In the jungle law of the survival of the fittest , if an animal loses its eyes, it is tantamount to a disaster. If you can achieve “what others do not have, I have, and what others have, I have better”, then you will naturally have the upper hand in the PK. This has to mention the position of the eyes. The eyes of carnivores are located in front, including human eyes. If you need to observe areas outside the front, you need to rely on the rotation of the neck to cooperate. However, the eyes of herbivores are usually located on both sides of the head, which has obvious advantages, such as a wider field of vision, a wider scanning area, and the ability to detect dangerous situations in a timely manner.

You may think that carnivores are at a disadvantage in terms of eyes, but this is not the case. The three-dimensional sense of vision of herbivores is not as strong as that of carnivores. Carnivores can focus their vision more easily because their eyes are located in front of them. They can observe the details of things in a more three-dimensional way and measure distance and speed more accurately. The reason why humans have a higher level of intelligence is first of all due to the three-dimensional and detailed visual presentation.

Breasts and offspring

It is not difficult to find that carnivorous mammals such as female cats, female dogs, and female tigers have six or eight breasts, while herbivorous animals such as female deer and female sheep have only two. Carnivorous birds such as sparrowhawks and owls lay more eggs at a time and can hatch more, but this never happens to pigeons, turtledoves, and all those birds that eat grains, which can only lay and hatch two eggs at a time.

It is not difficult to see that carnivores can raise more offspring at a time, after all, they feed on meat, which is rich in energy; herbivores have a lower energy source of food, so they spend more time eating, and thus have less energy allocated to the next generation. From this point of view, humans also have only two nipples, and in most cases, they give birth to one child per litter, so from this perspective, humans seem to be herbivores.

Herbivores vs Carnivores
Herbivores vs Carnivores

Intestinal

All carnivores have very “short” digestive systems. The length of the small intestine of carnivores is about three times the length of the body trunk. This is because meat food decays quickly. If it stays in the body for a long time. The toxins generate by the decaying food will seep into the blood. Therefore, a shorter digestive tract can help food to be excreted quickly. Unlike carnivores, the food eat by herbivores does not decay quickly and can be slowly absorbed through the intestines. So the length of the small intestine is much longer than that of carnivores, about more than 10 times the length of the body trunk.

We can’t help but compare it with the human intestines. The human small intestine is about 12 times the size of the body trunk. So maybe it’s time to become a vegetarian.

Don’t be impatient, it’s not over yet. Carnivores vs. herbivores will be analyzed in the next issue.

Stomach

In terms of the stomach, herbivores have an absolute advantage. They have a well-developed multi-chambered stomach and usually have two stomachs. One for storing food and the other for actually breaking down food. The so-called rumination usually refers to vomiting out the food stored in the stomach of the former and chewing it repeatedly. The food eat by herbivores contains more fiber products. Which need to be break down by a large number of bacteria and various digestive enzymes in the stomach. The peristaltic ability of the stomach is stronger, and the environment in the stomach is quite mild. Compared with the stomach of carnivores, the environment is strongly acidic, which is conducive to the decomposition of protein.

Teeth

Whether it is meat or grass, the first organ that comes into contact is the teeth. So there must be an essential difference between the two in this regard. Herbivores have 24 flat molars that can move slightly left and right. Obviously, since the food they eat is herbaceous plants. They need to chew a lot, and flat teeth facilitate them to grind better. Imagine the tigers and lions opening their bloody mouths, and the bright fangs are so scary. Fangs are more aggressive and easier to bite. In the process of attacking prey, teeth often play a decisive role.

Paw

Evolved into mammals, except for the order Cetacea and Sirenia , the rest are terrestrial animals. The importance of limbs to mammals is self-evident. In this part, we will discuss the running tool at the end of the limbs. The name of this part of the organ varies from animal to animal. Generally speaking, most herbivores belong to the family Unguiculata. Which is further divide into the order Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla. What is a hoof? In fact, it is a nail. With the adaptation to the environment, the nails continue to evolve and become stronger, and finally develop into hard hooves.

Most carnivores are toe-like, such as tigers, lions, cats, etc. The palms and wrists of their forelimbs, and the plantars and heels of their hind limbs are always off the ground. So these animals are famous for their good running. You will find that when humans are running and sprinting, they almost only touch the ground with their toes. The smaller the force surface, the less friction, and the faster the speed. Carnivores have sharp claws on their feet.

There is a distinct external feature when clawed animals and hoofed animals walk. The forelimb joints of hoofed animals are bent backwards. While those of clawed animals are bent forwards. This is because the former are bent at the wrist joints. While the latter are bent at the elbow joints, so it is just the opposite. Another different feature is that when hoofed animals walk, their limbs touch the ground loudly and heavily, giving a feeling of “hitting” down; while when clawed animals walk, their limbs touch the ground softly and lightly, giving a feeling of “pointing” down.

The lightness of carnivores will undoubtedly help them achieve twice the result with half the effort when hunting animals. Imagine if carnivores had hooves and made a “clang clang” sound when walking, they would be notice by the opponent before they even get close. On the contrary, although the hooves of herbivores “make a loud sound”, they are not in a position to attack after all. At a critical moment, they can kick out a hoof to save their lives.

There is another type of animals that plantigrade. That is, they walk on the ground with the soles of their feet. The feet of these animals are cover with thick flesh from the toes to the heels, which lacks elasticity. This is why animals such as bears and monkeys cannot run fast. Humans also belong to the plantigrade class.

We can find that nature combines its terrain and climate characteristics to write the chapter of evolution by allowing different life forms to play different roles.

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