carnivore

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carnivore Any member of the order of flesh-eating mammals. Mustelids – weasels, martens, minks and the wolverine – make up the largest family. Cats are the most specialized killers among the carnivores; dogs, bears and raccoons are much less exclusively meat eaters; and civets, mongooses and their relatives also have a mixed diet. Related to the civets, but in a separate family, are the hyenas, large dog-like scavengers. More distantly related to living land carnivores are the seals, sea lions and walruses; they evolved from ancient land carnivores who gave rise to early weasel- or civet-like forms. Other extinct carnivores include the sabretooth cats, which died out during the Pliocene epoch, 2 million years ago.

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