Herbivore

Herbivore is an animal that primarily feeds on plant material. This feeding strategy contrasts with carnivores and omnivores. Herbivores include mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and invertebrates that eat leaves, stems, roots, seeds, fruits, nectar, or other plant parts. Some species specialize, such as folivores that eat leaves, frugivores that eat fruit, granivores that eat seeds, and nectarivores that drink nectar, while others are generalists.

Many herbivores rely on gut fermentation to break down cellulose. Ruminants, including cattle, sheep, goats, and many wild species like deer, have multi-chambered stomachs enabling microbial fermentation before digestion; nonruminant herbivores include hindgut fermenters such as horses, rabbits, and many primates, which ferment plant material in the cecum or colon. Dentition typically features flat molars for grinding. Diets vary with habitat, from grazing grasses to browsing leaves or exploiting fruits and seeds.

Ecological role: Herbivores influence plant communities, seed dispersal, pollination, and nutrient cycling, and they form a major link in food webs by transferring energy from plants to higher trophic levels. They may act as pests in agricultural contexts or be subject to management for conservation. Studying herbivory sheds light on coevolution between plants and consumers and on the dynamics of ecosystems.