All animals are provided with the raw abilities to properly capture and digest their foods. The anatomy of an animal will provide evidence as to which of the three main categories it falls under: herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore. Carnivores have the abilities to subsist on only animal products. A carnivorous animal’s frame of mind revolves around their instinct to hunt. When spotting potential prey, carnivores immediately “pour out copious amounts of saliva” (Tobias). No digestive enzymes are secreted in their saliva due to the lack of carbohydrates in their diets. Using their large paws and sharp claws, carnivores are able to capture their prey. Their “short and pointed” incisors and “long, sharp, and curved” canines allow them to easily decapitate their prey and pierce into flesh using a shearing motion of their jaw (Mills). After swallowing their food whole, it is then transported into their stomachs. A carnivore’s food is instantly greeted by their “powerful digestive enzymes” which has a pH of less than or equal to one (Carnivores). These enzymes are very effective in breaking down the complex protein the animal’s food. Because they do not chew their food, carnivores solely rely on these digestive enzymes to break down their food for them. Their digestive tracts are fairly short and simple. Due to this, their large stomachs compose “60% to 70% total volume of [their] digestive tract” (Mills). Once broken down by a carnivore’s digestive enzymes, the food is moved to the next site of digestion, the small intestine, through peristalsis (Carnivores). Their small intestine is certainly quite small, having the length of “three to six times its body length” (Mills).
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Their food travels down the large intestine next. A carnivore’s large intestine is “relatively smooth and runs fairly straight so that fatty wastes high in cholesterol can easily slide out before they start to putrefy” (Carnivores).
A slight contrast is seen between the digestive processes of carnivores and omnivores. Omnivores are capable of using their “short and pointed” incisors and “long, sharp, and curved” canines to consume both plant and animal products (Mills). Similarly to carnivorous animals, omnivores use a shearing motion to ingest their food. “Swallowing food whole is [also] the preferred method of… omnivores” (Deneen). The stomachs of omnivores and carnivores are also nearly identical.
Though an omnivore’s small intestine is also quite small, “4 to 6 times [its] body length” it is slightly larger than that of a carnivore (Mills). This slight adaptation in omnivores’ gastrointestinal tract allows omnivores to properly digest both cellulose and animal products.
In contrast, herbivorous animals thrive solely on plant matter. An herbivore has a much more compassionate mindset than seen in carnivores or omnivores. Herbivores do not desire, nor are they equipped with the raw abilities, to slaughter another animal. Rather, the extremities of herbivorous animals serve the function of transportation and obtaining plant foods. Once their food enters the oral cavity, it is then welcomed by alkaline digestive enzymes secreted in their saliva. These enzymes specifically aid in the digestion of carbohydrates. After extensive chewing and crushing, their food is swallowed with the assistance of their blunted teeth and the “jaw joint above the plane of the molars” (Mills). Once undergone the chemical and mechanical digestion in the oral cavity, their food arrives at the next place of digestion, the stomach. The stomach
Their food travels down the large intestine next. A carnivore’s large intestine is “relatively smooth and runs fairly straight so that fatty wastes high in cholesterol can easily slide out before they start to putrefy” (Carnivores).
A slight contrast is seen between the digestive processes of carnivores and omnivores. Omnivores are capable of using their “short and pointed” incisors and “long, sharp, and curved” canines to consume both plant and animal products (Mills). Similarly to carnivorous animals, omnivores use a shearing motion to ingest their food. “Swallowing food whole is [also] the preferred method of… omnivores” (Deneen). The stomachs of omnivores and carnivores are also nearly identical.
Though an omnivore’s small intestine is also quite small, “4 to 6 times [its] body length” it is slightly larger than that of a carnivore (Mills). This slight adaptation in omnivores’ gastrointestinal tract allows omnivores to properly digest both cellulose and animal products.
In contrast, herbivorous animals thrive solely on plant matter. An herbivore has a much more compassionate mindset than seen in carnivores or omnivores. Herbivores do not desire, nor are they equipped with the raw abilities, to slaughter another animal. Rather, the extremities of herbivorous animals serve the function of transportation and obtaining plant foods. Once their food enters the oral cavity, it is then welcomed by alkaline digestive enzymes secreted in their saliva. These enzymes specifically aid in the digestion of carbohydrates. After extensive chewing and crushing, their food is swallowed with the assistance of their blunted teeth and the “jaw joint above the plane of the molars” (Mills). Once undergone the chemical and mechanical digestion in the oral cavity, their food arrives at the next place of digestion, the stomach. The stomach