2. Diet:
The mountain and eastern lowland gorillas are
both entirely vegetarian, while the western
lowland race also eats insects and small
vertebrates. But though the gorilla is largely
vegetarian, very little of the gorilla’s food
comes from the trees among which it lives. It
eats the fruit, leaves and juicy stems of plants
such as bamboo, that form the under-growth
of the forest floor. This, together with the
morning dew on the leaves, provides all the
moisture it needs
Entirely vegetarian, except
western lowland gorillas which
also eat insects and small
vertebrates
3. Food and Feeding
The Indian rhino is
principally a grazing animal,
constantly moving around to
take advantage of fresh
plant growth. It is adaptable
in its feeding methods,
extending its upper lip to
grasp a bunch of long grass,
or folding it away when
feeding on short, newly-
grown grass.
The rhino also eats bamboo
shoots and a variety of
crops, which can make it a
nuisance for farmers!
Diet: Grass, small twigs, bamboo
shoots. Also raids crops such as
wheat, lentils and potatoes
4. Food and hunting
The Bengal tiger uses stealth
to catch its victims; attacking
from the side or the rear, it
kills small prey with a bite to
the back of the neck and
chokes larger prey with a bite
to the throat.
Game is its preferred prey,
especially gaur (wild ox) and
buffalo. A bull gaur weighs
about 900kg – over twice the
weight of a tiger. As well as
game animals, it preys on
chital, wild boar, monkeys,
lizards and occasionally
porcupines.
Diet: Deer, monkeys, wild
boar and gaur
5. The humpback whale spends the spring, summer and autumn in its cold-water feeding areas. Populations in the
southern hemisphere feed mainly on krill, but their northern counterparts have a more varied diet of capelin,
shoaling fish such as mackerel and herring, and squid. When food is plentiful near the surface, a humpback will
approach from the side or from beneath and lunge upward, opening its jaws to engulf a mouthful of prey.
The shock waves from tail slapping and breaching may startle fish, and rising bubbles or ‘nets’ of air from whales
deep underwater can confuse and enclose prey.
Diet – Krill, fish, squid
