Species Comparison
Pulling it All Together
How's it going? Now that you've had a chance to get to know some of these captivating critters individually, let's round them all up and see what you've learned! Although every species is unique, many of them share some general similarities, the most basic of which is the need to eat. However, WHAT they eat and HOW they get it can be very different depending on each species. Below, we'll go deeper into a few of these differences, as well as some of the things that are true for all of them, cat and okapi, alpaca and hog alike!
SMILE!!!
They say you are what you eat. Or more specifically, your teeth become what you use them to munch on! All animals evolve to thrive in a specific environment with access to a limited selection of resources, and food is a big part of that. Depending on what they eat, animals' bodies and digestive processes adapt to make the most out of what's available. One of the most striking examples of this is their teeth. Get ready for a dazzling display of dynamic dentition!
Like other ruminants, alpacas lack incisors in their upper jaw. Instead, they have a hard dental pad, which is useful for tearing off thick tufts of grass. The back of an alpaca's mouth is lined with large, flat molars for grinding their food.
Cat's teeth are important for them to get through their meal. They have sharp canines to cut through the meat and bones. The molars in the back are relatively small, but still help to chew through the tough stuff.
Pigs have many incisor teeth. Their premolars and molars are called brachydont teeth, which means they have low ridges. They use their teeth mainly to grind up grain and other plant material in their diet.
The okapi as a ruminant does not have upper incisors, and it has flat teeth to help grind up leaves from the rainforest. Okapis are also found to have relatively small incisors and molars in their lower jaw.
Sense This?
Did you know that every species has a superpower? It's true! Heightened senses allow animals to avoid predators and find their food, two vital life processes that are necessary for survival in the wild. Each of these species has a unique ability related to how it locates or gathers food in its natural habitat. You might even call it . . . a sensational sense for sustenance!
Alpacas have a cleft upper lip, which means they can use each half independently, like a pair of fingers, to feel and gather food. Their lips are covered with fine, sensitive hairs that help them explore and learn about a potential food item before they eat it.
The heightened sense that helps cats find and catch their food is their eyesight. Their field of vision stretches 200 degrees around them, and their pupils dilate at different light levels to help them hunt during times of low brightness such as dawn and dusk.
These pigs and their noses! A pig's nose is the strongest part of its body, and it uses it in many different ways, one of which is to help locate and dig up food. They use a technique called "rooting" to search for food in the ground.
The Okapi has a heightened sense of smell that helps it forage for food. Okapis leave a scent trail from their feet that other okapis can follow to find good places to browse, helping compensate for the okapi's poor eyesight. Okapis will also use their scent trail to mark their own browsing territory.
Creature Cravings
Hungry for more? These critters certainly are! Every animal has evolved to eat a specific kind of diet. These different eating styles fall under three broad categories: herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore. However, some of these categories can be narrowed down further depending on how an animal gets its food or how often it likes to eat. Read on to learn how each of these species fits into the lineup.
Alpacas are grazers, which means they specialize in vegetation that's close to the ground, such as grasses and low-growing shrubs.
Cats are classified are carnivores. Eating meat on a daily basis, a cat's diet consists of mostly protein and fats.
Pigs are considered omnivores. They consume both plants and small animals. Their main diet consists of grains, but they are willing to eat almost anything.
Okapis are considered browsers. They eat primarily leaves and twigs found on the understory of dense forests.
The Daily Dose
Think our farm of animals need their daily vitamin? Think again! They may not all eat the same things, but they are still able to get the nutrition they need from their diets. Specifically, all of these animals require the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and E, since their bodies can't synthesize them on their own. The graphs located on the bottom of the page illustrate the daily intake of each essential vitamin for our group of animals. Though they aren't similar in amounts, these three vitamins are still required for a healthy lifestyle for each creature, which they can absorb from their diet.
