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Trophic Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores |
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Trophic Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores |
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Introduction
The word carnivore has two meanings. In popular use, it is understood to mean "meat-eater". As such, it might include such diverse animals as white sharks, killer whales, sea lions, eagles and lions.
To a biologist, the term carnivore refers to a specific group of mammals that all share certain dental characteristics. It does not refer to fish, birds or insects. A true carnivore is a mammal that possesses carnassial teeth. Carnassial teeth are designed for slicing meat off a bone. Anyone who has ever watched a dog gnaw at a bone with the side of its mouth has seen carnassial teeth in action.
Carnassial teeth are the fifth lower and fourth upper teeth in the jaws. In humans and ungulates, these teeth would be called molars and are flattened for grinding and chewing purposes. In carnivores, these teeth are scissor-like and shear meat.
Canine teeth are the stabbing or piercing teeth. Although these teeth are usually well developed in most carnivores, many other orders of mammals possess them including: primates (humans, baboons, monkeys), ruminants (elk and musk deer) and some extinct marsupials.
The true carnivores consist of the following families: mongooses, spotted hyenas, weasels, dogs, cats, raccoons and bears.
The following is a partial list of some of the carnivores found in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. The ones selected in bold are covered in detail in this book. Those species are the ones most likely to be seen on safari.
Canidae (dogs and allies)
The dog family are long muzzled, long-legged carnivores. They are usually coursers that run down their prey but among the foxes there are several species that are almost cat-like in behavior.
Mustelids (Weasels)
Weasels are small carnivores and very difficult to see. They generally have a long body and short legs. Most weasel species are found further north.
Herpestidae (Mongooses)
Mongooses are small to mid-sized carnivores with long, slender bodies and short tails. They are not closely related to hyenas.
Hyaenidae (Hyena)
Hyenas are large carnivores with front legs longer than their back ones.
Viverridae (Civets and genets)
Civets resemble the ancestral carnivores. The family is varied and has some features which are cat-like, dog-like and mongoose-like.
Felidae (cats)
Cats are small to large carnivores with short faces and retractable claws. (The cheetah is an exception.)
In the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, it
would be a mistake to assume that these are the only meat-eaters. Baboons and humans
regularly include meat in their diet. As food-consumers, they would be considered omnivores because they eat both meat and plant
material. Several carnivores are also omnivores. Bears are carnivores, but in diet, they are omnivores that eat more plant material than
meat. At least one near-ungulate, the aardvark, consumes mostly animal matter (termites).
In the past, many species of ungulates ate meat but they are all extinct
now. 
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CDROM Index | Title Page | Contents | Index | Glossary | Bibliography | Appendices | LifeStories Online
Dave Taylor's African Safari - Book 4: Trophic
Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores (Standard Version)
Copyright © 1999 Dave Taylor & James Cash