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Created by Bobbie Kalman Dedicated by Kylan Mitchell To Wendy Mitchell, who taught me everything that is important in life, and how to persevere against all odds to protect what's worth living for. I love you, mom. Author and Editor-in-Chief Bobbie Kalman Editors Reagan Miller Robin Johnson Photo research Crystal Sikkens Design Bobbie Kalman Katherine Berti Samantha Crabtree (cover) Production coordinator Katherine Berti Illustrations Bonna Rouse: page 11 Photographs BigStockPhoto.com: pages 21 (bottom), 27 (bottom), 28 (top) Dreamstime.com: pages 5 (bottom), 8 (bottom), 11, 17 (bottom), 19 (bottom) istockphoto.com: pages 1, 5 (top), 9 (bottom), 20 (top), 25, 26 (top) ShutterStock.com: front cover, pages 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 (top), 10, 13, 14 (bottom), 15, 18, 19 (top), 20 (bottom), 21 (top), 23, 26 (bottom), 28 (bottom), 30, 31 (bottom) Other images by Comstock, Corel, Creatas, Digital Stock, Digital Vision, and Otto Rogge Photography Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Kalman, Bobbie, 1947- What is an omnivore? / Bobbie Kalman. (Big science ideas) Includes index. ISBN 978-0-7787-3276-1 (bound) ISBN 978-0-7787-3296-9 (pbk.) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kalman, Bobbie. What is an omnivore? / Bobbie Kalman. p. cm. -- (Big science ideas) Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7787-3276-1 (rlb) ISBN-10: 0-7787-3276-2 (rlb) ISBN-13: 978-0-7787-3296-9 (pb) ISBN-10: 0-7787-3296-7 (pb) 1. Omnivores--Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series. 1. Omnivores--Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series. QL756.5.K35 2007 j591.5'3 C2007-904231-7 QL756.5K432 2007 591.5'3--dc22 2007026961 Company www.crabtreebooks.com 1-800-387-7650 Printed in the USA/052010/CG20100409 Copyright 2008 CRABTREE PUBLISHING COMPANY. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Company. In Canada: We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing activities. 2 Published in Canada 616 Welland Ave. St. Catharines, ON L2M 5V6 Published in the United States PMB 59051 350 Fifth Avenue, 59 th Floor New York, New York 10118 Published in the United Kingdom Maritime House Basin Road North, Hove BN41 1WR Published in Australia 386 Mt. Alexander Rd. Ascot Vale (Melbourne) VIC 3032
Contents What do they eat? 4 Eat what they find 6 Insect omnivores 8 Land and sea turtles 10 Bird omnivores 12 Mammal teeth 14 Carnivore teeth 16 Rodent omnivores 18 Raccoon scavengers 20 Skunks 22 Grizzly bears 24 Opossum omnivores 26 Food for primates 28 People omnivores 30 Glossary and Index 32
What do they eat? Animals are living things. All living things need food to survive. Food gives living things the energy to grow and move. Animals eat different kinds of foods. Some animals eat mainly plants. Animals that eat mainly plants are called herbivores. Some animals eat other animals. Animals that eat other animals are called carnivores. 4 The panda, shown above, is a herbivore. It eats mainly bamboo plants. The lynx, shown right, is a wild cat. It is eating meat. All wild cats are carnivores.
Both kinds of food Many animals eat both plants and other animals. These animals are called omnivores. Most people are omnivores, as well. The bodies of omnivores have adapted, or changed, so they can eat both kinds of foods. What kinds of foods do you enjoy eating? 5
Eat what they find Most omnivores are opportunistic feeders. Opportunistic feeders eat the foods that are available to them. They scavenge, or search, for any food they can find. Raccoons, foxes, bears, and many birds are opportunistic feeders. 6 Eating to live Some carnivores, such as red foxes, have adapted to eating both plants and meat to survive. When they cannot find prey, or animals to hunt and eat, they eat plants. Animals that eat both kinds of food have better chances of staying alive.