|
|
Post by malikc6 on Aug 25, 2020 0:59:56 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by OldGreenGrolar on Aug 25, 2020 1:24:35 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Aug 25, 2020 5:43:49 GMT -5
Interesting topic malikc6. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151207164343.htm People often think hippos are herbivores with big smiling faces. Every now and then, reports of a hippo of hunting down prey, eating a carcass, or stealing prey from a crocodile are heard, but they're typically considered 'aberrant' or 'unusual' behavior. Now, however, researchers demonstrate that carnivory, or eating meat, is not uncommon among hippos at all, and that this behavior may increase their susceptibility to mass mortality during anthrax outbreaks. |
|
|
|
Post by malikc6 on Aug 25, 2020 6:44:38 GMT -5
Interesting topic malikc6. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151207164343.htm People often think hippos are herbivores with big smiling faces. Every now and then, reports of a hippo of hunting down prey, eating a carcass, or stealing prey from a crocodile are heard, but they're typically considered 'aberrant' or 'unusual' behavior. Now, however, researchers demonstrate that carnivory, or eating meat, is not uncommon among hippos at all, and that this behavior may increase their susceptibility to mass mortality during anthrax outbreaks. What exactly leads to such odd behavior though? |
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Aug 25, 2020 8:14:44 GMT -5
It goes both ways: www.independent.co.uk/news/science/crocodiles-alligators-vegetarians-200-million-years-ago-tooth-fossils-a8977841.html Long-lost crocodile species living 200 million years ago were vegetarians, a new study has found. Tooth fossils revealed between three and six members of the ancient crocodile and alligator family evolved specialised teeth for chewing on plants. Study author Keegan Melstrom, a doctoral student at the University of Utah, analysed 146 teeth from 16 crocodyliforms. He said: “The most interesting thing we discovered was how frequently it seems extinct crocodyliforms ate plants. Carnivores possess simple teeth whereas herbivores have much more complex teeth.” |
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Aug 25, 2020 8:16:54 GMT -5
Quote from malikc6 - What exactly leads to such odd behavior though? *Good question. I have no answers.  |
|
|
|
Post by OldGreenGrolar on Aug 31, 2020 1:12:56 GMT -5
Not sure. Hippos though strictly vegetarian occasionally turns to meat. The cave bear being among the most herbivores of bears yet is still related to the brown bears which eat more meat.
|
|
|
|
Post by malikc6 on Sept 5, 2020 4:59:44 GMT -5
Not sure. Hippos though strictly vegetarian occasionally turns to meat. The cave bear being among the most herbivores of bears yet is still related to the brown bears which eat more meat. I thought the Cave Bear was more of an omnivore. |
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Sept 5, 2020 5:19:01 GMT -5
Not sure. Hippos though strictly vegetarian occasionally turns to meat. The cave bear being among the most herbivores of bears yet is still related to the brown bears which eat more meat. I thought the Cave Bear was more of an omnivore. Ursus spelaeus - the classic cave bear was ( according to the experts ) herbivorous. Ursus Kanivetz / Ursus Ingressus ( biggest of all the cave bears ) omnivore. ( U. Kanivetz is closely related to the classic cave bear and, in fact, may simply be a subspecies ) |
|
|
|
Post by malikc6 on Sept 5, 2020 22:43:38 GMT -5
Personally I think that animals are just categorized based on the patterns we see. An animal will eat almost anything it thinks is remotely food for a number of reasons. Starvation being a strong factor for something like a deer eating a rat or something. Maybe even out of curiosity as animals have their own minds and emotions and forms of logic. Perhaps impulse? A hippo eating meat to me strikes me as an act of impulse.
If I were to make or get something sweet smelling with a lot of calories and get several animals that are hungry or starving, chances are the animal will eat it regardless of its classification. Animals don't instinctively ignore that stuff as something else. The fact that deer have been recorded eating steak should prove that. A cow or a bull would probably eat a juicy steak if it was presented with it.
|
|
|
|
Post by King Kodiak on Sept 5, 2020 23:04:34 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by malikc6 on Sept 6, 2020 0:36:15 GMT -5
One thing to take into consideration is that humans are theorized to have also been herbivores during our evolution. We ate meat out of times of desperation. Likely fed on carrion which led to hunting. Our ancestors likely realized that meat had more calories and therefore gained more energy, got stronger, larger, and heavier (aside the potential parasites and diseases that came with them lol). This influenced our evolution and therefore we're omnivores. It was situational why we started consuming flesh. Why not the same thing for other species?
|
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Sept 6, 2020 1:20:31 GMT -5
One thing to take into consideration is that humans are theorized to have also been herbivores during our evolution. We ate meat out of times of desperation. Likely fed on carrion which led to hunting. Our ancestors likely realized that meat had more calories and therefore gained more energy, got stronger, larger, and heavier (aside the potential parasites and diseases that came with them lol). This influenced our evolution and therefore we're omnivores. It was situational why we started consuming flesh. Why not the same thing for other species? Most likely ( IMO ) the various Australopithecus species were omnivores. The earliest ones feeding on various forms of vegetation and on insects and very small animals. Later species learned to kill larger animals ( antelope/deer sized ) and perhaps to chase some predators ( wild dogs/cheetah ) off their kills. I have my doubts that Australopithecus ate carrion; which would kill a modern human. -just my thoughts. |
|
|
|
Post by malikc6 on Sept 6, 2020 1:28:50 GMT -5
One thing to take into consideration is that humans are theorized to have also been herbivores during our evolution. We ate meat out of times of desperation. Likely fed on carrion which led to hunting. Our ancestors likely realized that meat had more calories and therefore gained more energy, got stronger, larger, and heavier (aside the potential parasites and diseases that came with them lol). This influenced our evolution and therefore we're omnivores. It was situational why we started consuming flesh. Why not the same thing for other species? Most likely ( IMO ) the various Australopithecus species were omnivores. The earliest ones feeding on various forms of vegetation and on insects and very small animals. Later species learned to kill larger animals ( antelope/deer sized ) and perhaps to chase some predators ( wild dogs/cheetah ) off their kills. I have my doubts that Australopithecus ate carrion; which would kill a modern human. -just my thoughts. Didn't our ancestors have stronger stomach acids than modern day humans? |
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Sept 6, 2020 2:31:58 GMT -5
The fact that the odors from even a fresh kill, when a cow or a hog is torn open, we humans find it repugnant. This tells me that our early ancestors were not true carnivores. The odors from carrion we find even more repugnant. So, I really doubt that our ancestor fed on such. To a true carnivore, such as the family dog, these smells mentioned are sweet aromas that wet the appetite.
( IMO) the first of our ancestors to feast on meat were probably driven by desperation. But, this is nothing more than my personal opinion.
|
|
|
|
Post by malikc6 on Sept 6, 2020 19:46:20 GMT -5
The fact that the odors from even a fresh kill, when a cow or a hog is torn open, we humans find it repugnant. This tells me that our early ancestors were not true carnivores. The odors from carrion we find even more repugnant. So, I really doubt that our ancestor fed on such. To a true carnivore, such as the family dog, these smells mentioned are sweet aromas that wet the appetite. ( IMO) the first of our ancestors to feast on meat were probably driven by desperation. But, this is nothing more than my personal opinion. To what extent do you think meat changed human evolution? Herbivore to omnivore? Also do you think that at the core, were still herbivorous? |
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Sept 6, 2020 20:42:39 GMT -5
The fact that the odors from even a fresh kill, when a cow or a hog is torn open, we humans find it repugnant. This tells me that our early ancestors were not true carnivores. The odors from carrion we find even more repugnant. So, I really doubt that our ancestor fed on such. To a true carnivore, such as the family dog, these smells mentioned are sweet aromas that wet the appetite. ( IMO) the first of our ancestors to feast on meat were probably driven by desperation. But, this is nothing more than my personal opinion. To what extent do you think meat changed human evolution? Herbivore to omnivore? Also do you think that at the core, were still herbivorous? No; we were ( IMO ) never true herbivores. We were, I think, omnivores who leaned heavily towards a vegetarian diet. But our vegetarian diet was supplemented by insects and small animals. Perhaps similar to baboons and chimpanzees. -just my thoughts. |
|
|
|
Post by malikc6 on Sept 6, 2020 21:05:35 GMT -5
To what extent do you think meat changed human evolution? Herbivore to omnivore? Also do you think that at the core, were still herbivorous? No; we were ( IMO ) never true herbivores. We were, I think, omnivores who leaned heavily towards a vegetarian diet. But our vegetarian diet was supplemented by insects and small animals. Perhaps similar to baboons and chimpanzees. -just my thoughts. Would you say humans are similar to rats/mice in the sense that their opportunistic feeders? |
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Sept 6, 2020 22:01:55 GMT -5
No; we were ( IMO ) never true herbivores. We were, I think, omnivores who leaned heavily towards a vegetarian diet. But our vegetarian diet was supplemented by insects and small animals. Perhaps similar to baboons and chimpanzees. -just my thoughts. Would you say humans are similar to rats/mice in the sense that their opportunistic feeders? Rats/mice, bears, chimpanzee, baboon, wild boar ( to name a few ). |
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Sept 9, 2020 23:27:38 GMT -5
www.illustratedcuriosity.com/life/life-animals-plants/new-research-suggests-that-hippos-are-omnivores/ New research suggests that hippos are omnivores Hippos are omnivores, this is the conclusion drawn by an international group of researchers who have compiled their own and others’ observations of what hippos actually eat. These enormous animals spend most of their days in the water. Then, during nighttime they roam the surrounding lands of their water habitat to eat enormous amounts of grass. But contrary to popular belief, they are actually not pure herbivores. They also eat meat, carcasses of animals such as zebras, elephants, antelopes and even other hippos. These animals could have been killed by crocodiles or succumbed to the disease. But Hippos regulatory kill other animals themselves. It has been previously noted that hippos eat meat, but it was then thought to be exceptional and a deviant behavior among certain individuals. This new research, however, concludes that the behavior is widespread and that eating meat is part the hippos ecological niche. The research is perhaps not so surprising considering that their nearest relatives on Earth are indeed whales, all of which are carnivores.
|
|
