The forest biome is full of wild animals. It is home to thousands of species. Among the several species, a gorilla is one of them. The gorilla is a renowned animal mostly found in central Africa. The term ‘Gorilla’ is itself a genus of animals that portrays numerous species. It is regarded as one of the biggest animals in the world. Having 98% of their DNA similar to humans, gorillas act, behave, walk and eat like a human.

Gorillas and their Habitat

Gorillas are widely divided into two categories: eastern and western Gorillas. Both eastern and western gorillas are found in central Africa. Gorillas that live on the eastern side of central Africa are eastern gorillas. However, gorillas in the west of central Africa are western gorillas. Not only this, zoologists further distinguish the eastern and western gorillas based on zones. Some are mountain gorillas and others are lowland gorillas. According to the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the estimated number of western gorillas is around 316,000 and eastern gorillas are about 5000 in the world. Among the list of endangered species, gorillas are one of them.

What Do Gorillas Eat?

Gorillas are renowned as herbivores as they survive on eating plants. Plants are their basic diet. What gorillas eat mainly depends on the availability of plants or insects in a habitat. The variety of plants depends on the season as well. The central basin of Africa is replete with varieties of wild trees and plants. Among many others, the flora of central Africa includes Mahogany, Ebony, Limba, Wenge, Agba, Iroko, and Sapele. According to studies, an adult gorilla male eats about 30 kg of plants per day, whereas an adult female ingests 18 kg of plants. 

What do Mountain Gorillas Eat?

Gorillas living in mountains have a different diet than that of lowland gorillas. In central Africa, the mountainous gorillas live around 7000 to 14000 meters above sea level. At that height, there is a lack of fruit. So, gorillas eat parts of green plants there. They eat plants such as Plumbago, Proteas, Strelitzia, Wildflowers, and Flowering bushes. Research shows that mountain gorillas eat 38 various plant species. There are mainly Galium, thistles, celery, and nettles.

What do Lowland Gorillas Eat?

Lowland has a vast reservoir of fruit species. It has numerous long trees where gorillas get fruits. They also eat roots and seeds. The preferred fruits of lowland gorillas are berries, bananas, and guavas. They also love to eat the leaves of trees. Around 80% of gorillas’ diet is leaves, stems, and shoots. African lowland gorillas also like to feed on bamboo fruit. In the dry season, gorillas survive by eating a few juicy fruits from African rainforests. Zoologists have reported that there are around 200 plant species that are eaten by western gorillas. The plants of ginger and arrowroot families are their favorite feed. 

What do Wild, Captive, and Baby Gorillas eat?

As mentioned above, the diet of gorillas is reliable on habitat. Therefore, the nutrition of a gorilla also changes when a gorilla is captive, wild, or a baby gorilla.

Diet of Wild Gorillas

• Fruits and Plants

There are two natural habitats of wild gorillas: mountains and lowlands. It is mentioned above that the food of both categories of gorillas varies from one another. Seasons also play a vital role in gorillas’ regular diet. Western gorillas eat the leaves of a tree and numerous plant species. However, fruit is the common diet of eastern gorillas. 30% of the food of eastern gorillas is reliable on fruits there. Bananas, guava, berries, and cherries are their most liked fruit. Plants that gorillas eat in central Africa include Hibiscus, Succulents, Papyrus, Petunias, Plumbago, Proteas, Strelitzia, Wildflowers, and Flowering bushes.

• Insects

When there is a lack of a vegetarian diet, wild gorillas consume insects. Commonly, gorillas eat termites, ants, and grubs. When available, the weaver ant (Oecophylla longinoda) is the species gorillas eat frequently. Collectively, this wild animal eats three species of small ants. It is also noted that the wild mountain gorillas fill their appetite by eating invertebrates (insects) regularly. Research by Isra Deblauwe in Cameroon mentions that there is a large quantity of insect-eating gorillas. 

• Soil

Surprisingly, wild gorillas do eat soil as well occasionally. Along with plants, they get minerals from the soil as well. Soil consists of minerals that are not available in plants. Zoologists have found that minerals in soil counter the poisonous elements present in plants and trees.

Diet of Captive Gorillas

Captive gorillas are selective feeders. They are mainly frugivorous, feeding on fruit. Gorillas in amusement parks, zoos, and other bound places eat fruits including bananas, apples, guavas, and berries. These are the common foods consumed by captive gorillas. It is found that a captive gorilla requires food six times a day. A variety of foliage is also part of their diet in zoos. Some zoos also feed gorillas on processed cereals. However, cereals are a rare treat, not a natural diet. As the access to insects is quite less in zoos, captive gorillas hardly have insects to consume. 

Diet of Baby Gorillas

A baby gorilla weighs only approximately 4.5 pounds. They are found strong as compared to other baby animals. Mother’s milk is the pivotal diet for baby gorillas. They spend most of their time with their mothers and grip on mothers’ bodies. They wean off mothers’ milk after around two to three years of age. After that period, baby gorillas are considered an adult. They start eating what adult gorillas consume. Fruit, stem, and leaves become their regular diet. However, it is also observed that a few toddler gorillas eat some insects as well.

Some Interesting Facts about Gorillas

• A Powerful Animal: You cannot judge gorillas with their size. Gorillas are ten times more powerful than their actual size.
• A Strong Bite: Lion’s bite force is renowned worldwide. However, a gorilla’s bite force is double that of a lion.
• Unique Nose-prints: Like human beings, gorillas have specific nose prints. Scientists can distinguish gorillas as per their nose-print.
• An Intelligent Animal: Gorillas are considered one of the wisest animals. A female gorilla, KOKO, is renowned for its wit.
• DNA Similar to Human: Studies show that the similarities between human and gorillas’ DNA are more than 95%.
• Less Need for Water: Due to their vegetarian and foliage diet, gorillas get water naturally.

END NOTES

A strong wild animal, the gorilla, finds its diet in fruits, leaves, stems, shoots, and roots. The food of gorillas varies from habitat to habitats such as mountain and lowland. It is commonly found that gorillas are herbivores. However, they eat insects occasionally.

Lion, a wild animal, belongs to the cat species. It is widely found in different habitats including grasslands, savanna, and forests of Africa and India. The body features of a lion include a deep chest, a round head, and a fluffy, hairy tail. Lion is commonly known for its strength and powerful skills of killing other animals. Being a carnivore, it is a predator of other fleshy creatures in the forest. It usually becomes active at night and makes their living in different natural environments. However, the situation in forests does not remain the same. As every predator becomes someone’s prey, there are also lion predators. In the forest biome, some animals eat lions. Some carnivores attack them for their flesh, while others just eat dead lions. Numerous animals kill and eat lions in several conditions.

Lion Predators: Animals that Eat Lion

In most cases, lions remain predators that eat other animals and vice versa are quite rare. However, the nature of competition among creatures is unavoidable. Both food and territory are the common reasons behind the fights among animals. Hence, there are few predators whose prey is a lion. They attack, kill and eat lions. Hyenas, leopards, and wild dogs are the ones who attack and kill lions. Following are the animals the noted animals that are known as lion predators.

1-Hyenas

Hyenas are one of the common species of large carnivores. They are usually found in the forests of Africa. These scavengers show in spotted and non-spotted shades. Having a large physique and a diagonal back, hyenas are so smart at killing animals. In the case of lions, hyenas are their bitter enemies. Hyenas usually eat dead lions but they also kill cubs. Among the natural competitions in forests, hyenas and lions are fierce enemies. They try to steal one another’s food regularly. Therefore, hyenas have become common predators of lions.

2-Leopards

In lion’s predators, leopards are also so prominent. Living in the same habitat, both, lions and leopards strive to get food from the same prey. Both remain in search of flesh. Due to such similar traits, they often become predators of each other. However, leopards usually avoid killing adult lions as they are stronger and have leverage on leopards. But the wilderness of leopards often comes on single lioness and lion cubs. When cubs, for example, are without protection and left alone in the jungle, leopards get an opportunity to make them prey. They roam across the forests to find their prey. When they find a chance to kill a lion, they attack them fiercely.

3-African wild dogs

African wild dog, also known as African hunting dogs is a wild canine, habitat of sub-Saharan Africa. They are small carnivore predators. When wild dogs fight against lions, they remain at loss usually. However, the situation does not remain the same. Wild dogs are too smart; they do not miss an opportunity to kill lions too. Wild dogs often stay aloof from strong male lions and attack lionesses and cubs that are left alone from the group. Similar to other lion predators, the African wild dogs attack lions to kill them and eventually eat lion cubs.

Crocodiles

Like lions, crocodiles are on the top of the food chain as there are quite a few animals that kill or eat crocodiles. Crocodiles are amphibians that live on both land and water. However, they spend most of their time in the water. So, they are condition-based predators of lions. They are known as ambush predators. Crocodiles attack them surprisingly when lions drink water from the pond having crocodiles. They become lions’ predators whenever they get a chance to kill them. It is usually noted that they kill lions in the evening when lions get exhausted and walk around the area of shallow waters. The heavy predators of lions wait for the right time to attack lions and make them their prey.

4-Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros are among the heaviest animals in the forest and grassland biome. Due to the massive body structure, rhinoceros make them a threat to lions. Sometimes, they also become prey to lions but lions have to be in large quantity to land this heavy animal. Rhino’s horn is an unavoidable threat to a lion. Rhino uses its horn as a weapon when it fights against animals. A sharp hit of a rhino’s horn can hurt a lion severely and sometimes that wound kills them.

5-Porcupine

Porcupine seems quite small and harmless as compared to other predators. But unsurprisingly, they can kill strong predators like lions, leopards, and hyenas. Their sharp, razor-edged, and intense spikes are its protecting and attacking weapon. Porcupine kills lions by wounding them severely. Such an attack can cause fatal infections in lions. In most cases, porcupine uses spikes as a defense weapon. But when it encounters any predator like a lion it attacks them with thorns. Resultantly, it is counted as a lion’s predator.

6-Hippopotamus

A hippopotamus is also a fierce animal having massive weight, a large mouth, and powerful jaws. Its sharply-edged canines are a potential threat to other predators. It can open its muscular jaw at 180 degrees. Though it is an herbivore, it has the strength and capability to kill other animals. In the case of lions, the hippopotamus kills lions when they attack them. While defending themselves, hippopotamuses become aggressive against lions. Their two-meter-long canines can cut the throat of a lion and break its bones.

7-Vultures

In the list of animals that eat lions, vultures are worth mentioning. Vultures are not the ones that attack lions or kill them. But they eat the flesh of dead lions that are either killed or died naturally. They remain to seek an opportunity of eating dead lions from the sky. A wide range of vultures comes to have the meat of a lion. The sharp and cone-shaped beak of vultures tears the lion’s flesh apart.

8-African Buffalo

Buffalo has also been recorded killing lions for their safety and security. This heavy-sized animal defends itself when lions attack them. In the lion and buffalo fight, African buffaloes give hard time to a lion. Large strong horns of buffalo are its weapons to protect itself and its calf. Another strengthening factor of buffaloes is that they roam in a herd. Therefore, a herd of adult buffaloes can kill a lion with ease.

Humans

There is often news of man-eater lions in different parts of the world. But do humans eat lions? Undoubtedly lion meat is not a regular meal for humans. However, there is a market for lion meat as well.

END NOTES

The lion is the pride of the forest. It remains at the top of the food chain and remains a predator of numerous wild animals. However, some animals become lion predators. Some kill a lion to eat them while others fight them for their safety.

Seeing your bunny munching on insects might get you curious if, by any chance, they devouring creepy-crawlies. Informed owners will get worried as it is a well-known fact that rabbits are strictly herbivorous. But do you need to worry if you find your bunny eating bugs? In most cases, NO!

As you may already know, bunnies are curious creatures that tend to get everything in their mouths they can grab. That may include bugs living in plants that rabbits eat as food. Usually, they feed on grass and veggies. Insects that live in these plants may also end up being in your bunny’s belly, but it won’t be an intentional intake. And don’t worry; these bugs do not generally do any harm to your pet.

Having that said, you do not want your rabbit to ingest a poisonous bug as that may lead you to carry your pet to a veterinarian. Poisonous bugs usually thrive in wild environments. For example, some insects crawl through the entire plant length to reach its leaves. These insects are not inhabitants of a particular type of plant and generally have strong defense mechanisms that can pass on diseases to other animals they get eaten by.

Do Rabbits Like The Taste Of Insects?

No, rabbits do not like the taste of bugs. Most rabbits eat bugs accidentally. Bunnies that eat insects intentionally are territorial. Almost all rabbits avoid eating insects like grasshoppers and spiders. They usually end up eating small insects crawling over plant leaves that bunnies generally eat as food.

Why Would A Rabbit Eat Bugs?

If you put a rabbit in a wild environment, you will notice that it looks for a variety of vegetation to feed on. It will roam around the entire grassland and eat a decent amount of grass and flowers to keep up with its dietary requirements.

While rabbits are herbivores, their inclination towards being carnivorous becomes imminent when they get to eat a lot of plants with insects creeping over their leaves. Besides this obvious reason, scientists aren’t sure why an herbivore like a rabbit would eat any kind of meat when it is not starving. It happens anyway, and experts have found possible reasons for that.

• As mentioned above, bunnies remain curious about their diet. So it is no surprise that your pet may find it fun to catch and feed on a bug. This behavior would certainly help rabbits to avoid dying from starvation when habitats change.
• A rabbit’s choice to eat bugs can be a rather defensive move. Some insects hop around to nag other animals. Those animals then have to eat such insects to avoid being irritated. Perhaps that is why experts recommend preventing the entry of crickets in the area where you keep rabbits.
• Rabbits, which are hasty in nature, can eat bugs and worms present on the grass and leaves. Hence, it is highly likely that your bunny eats too many insects accidentally.
• Territorial rabbits are usually intentional insect eaters. These bunnies develop a natural habit to bit on anything they consider a threat. This is how they thwart an insect attack on their territory.
• Some bugs offer a better nutritional value than vegetables and other plants for rabbits. Caterpillars, worms, roaches, and some larva have a good amount of protein and other minerals. Hence, it is entirely possible for your bunny to snack on such insects to fill a nutrition gap. However, a domestic rabbit wouldn’t eat these insects because it is already provided with a rich diet.

Are Insects Safe To Eat?

Some rabbits develop a habit to hunt and munch on crickets. You will find them quite agile to jump and catch an insect in the air, which can be a treat to watch for rabbit keepers.

However, not all insects are safe to eat, especially in the wild. Many bugs are exposed to pesticides and insecticides. These bugs are particularly hazardous for your bunny. Some insects may also carry diseases or parasites, which can make a rabbit sick if ingested. Some insects may bite or sting to defend themselves.

Insects in the Bunny’s Hutch – Should You Worry?

A spider in the hutch should not be a cause of concern if your bunny pays no attention to it. These spiders are good at hunting pests and other insects that may harm your pet.

As for other insects, you will want to keep them away from your rabbit’s cage. It is best to look for any holes that may serve as bug nests. Also, look for any cracks and seams and seal them using tape or grout to keep the area free of any insects.

Pay Attention to Your Bunny’s Diet?

A lot of fresh foods in the household can be a treat for your bunny. Examples include:

• Bananas
• Apples
• Carrots
• Bell peppers
• Basil
• Cherries
• Cilantro
• Grapes
• Kale
• Mint
• Collard greens
• Mustard greens
• Papaya
• Squash
• Strawberries

Most items on this list are available in all parts of the world and are low-cost. So, if you want to make your bunny’s day, be sure to grab items from this list.

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