Wild diet. How many fit into an elephant, a lion, a hippopotamus, a leopard ...?

Wild animals cannot go to the grocery, and the owner will not bring them food. They spend the bulk of their lives searching for food. Some people travel long distances in search of food, others run after their food, still others wait for someone to get their own food, and take it away, fourth wait until they are full, and they are left to gnaw on bones. In any case, nutrition is a complex process that takes time and effort.

If you do not go into subtleties, then you most likely know what these or other representatives of the animal kingdom eat. Today I would like to tell you how much food an animal needs for a normal life. And since I am in Africa, it will be mainly about animals of the savannah.

So, let's start with herbivores:

Zebras and wildebeests

These animals make the well-known great migration across the expanses of the Masai Mara and Serengeti national parks. They make huge transitions, and all for the sake of fresh grass. They, like lawn mowers, cut endless meadows of the savannah. Moreover, antelopes eat the upper part of the grass, and zebras - the lower. Each day, each individual eats an average of 5-7 kilograms of grass. Not so much, but when you consider that there are about 2.5 million of them in these parts, you can understand why they go so much in search of fresh grass.

Giraffes

These animals need long necks for a reason. It is thanks to the necks that they are able to get their own food, and in particular - acacia leaves. For a day, a giraffe is able to consume about 30 kilograms of foliage of this tree.

Hippos

These guys weighing 2-3 tons need to eat very actively. On a hot day, they sit in the water, and with the sunset get out to the shore in search of grass. They eat all night, because 70 kilograms of grass is a serious matter.

Elephants

The largest land animal requires the largest amount of food. Elephants feed on grass, leaves, and other plant foods. Elephants feed all day, spending up to 20 hours a day on it. They have no time for fun, because on average an adult eats about 200 kilograms! And the largest individuals are able to consume almost half a ton of plant mass!

What do we have with predators? Everything is not so simple here, because their food is not growing and still needs to be caught!

Cheetah

Provided that he does not have kittens and only feeds himself, he usually hunts once every two days. Its main food is Thomson's gazelle. The weight of such a gazelle is about 20-25 kilograms, but in fact, several adult cheetahs can eat such a gazelle, after all, this cat eats about 3 kg at a time, moreover, it eats primarily internal organs and drinks blood. After the cheetah there remains a lot of carrion, which would not mind eating hyenas or small predators, including birds. By the way, the daily norm for a cheetah in zoos is 2.8-3.5 kg of meat per day.

Leopard

Like the cheetah, it hunts once every two to three days. He eats a little more than a cheetah. The leopard has a big advantage over other big cats, because it can drag game high up on a tree and not be afraid that other predators will take it away. Thus, a leopard can eat its prey longer, and therefore hunt a little less.

Hyena

As I have said many times, no hyenas are scavengers. Yes, they are able to eat carrion, but two-thirds of their diet consists of food obtained independently. Hyenas are quite voracious. And although her own weight is not more than the weight of a leopard, she is able to use about 15 kilograms at a time. Not only meat or internal organs are used, but also bones.

A lion

The lion among the predators in the savannah is the most gluttonous. At one time, the lion is able to gobble up up to 35 kilograms of meat. Lionesses eat a little less. Moreover, it is the lioness who is the main nurse in the pride. However, this does not mean that males do not hunt. Lonely lions do this job themselves. Also, when hunting for large prey, like a hippopotamus and a giraffe, male strength is very useful. Large prides are hunted daily, but in general, a lion should eat at least once every two to three days, like most other representatives of the cat family.

These are the things to do with food in Africa.

I also wanted to pay attention to one specific cat - the Ussuri tiger, which lives on the farm of my friends. So Dima eats 250 kilograms of chickens in a week. Here is such a voracious cat.