Carnivore

A carnivore is an organism that eats animals. Two ecological groups of carnivores are predators that hunt their prey in order to eat it and scavengers that feed on dead animals.

Carnivores are heterotrophs, which means that they obtain energy and nutrients from other organisms. (In contrast, autotrophs such as green plants can fix their own energy and synthesize biochemicals utilizing inorganic sources such as sunlight and simple inorganic molecules.)

In a simple ecological food chain, animals that feed on plants are herbivores or primary consumers. Animals that eat herbivores are primary carnivores or secondary consumers. Carnivores that feed on other carnivores are tertiary consumers. Because energy is lost at each level of the food chain, most ecosystems have few large carnivores. In addition, some toxins found in the environment are not easily metabolized and tend to become concentrated in top carnivores as they are passed along a food chain. This process, called biomagnification is especially significant in large residues of fat-soluble, persistent chemicals such as the chlorinated hydrocarbons, DDT, PCBs, and dioxins. Extremely high concentrations these chemicals have been found in peregrine falcons, polar bears, and seals.

Almost all carnivores are animals. However, a few carnivores are specialized species of plants that trap, kill, and ingest small animals, and then absorb some of their nutrients. Examples of carnivorous plants include Venus flytrap, sundews, and pitcher plants.

See also Food chain/web; Herbivore; Heterotroph; Omnivore; Predator; Scavenger; Trophic levels.