How Animals Get Food and Shelter

Just like you need lunch and a home, every animal needs food for energy and shelter to stay safe. Different animals have very different ways of getting both!

What animals eat — three groups

• Herbivores eat only plants — grass, leaves, seeds, and fruit. Examples: rabbit, deer, cow.
• Carnivores eat only other animals. Examples: lion, eagle, spider.
• Omnivores eat both plants and animals. Examples: bear, human, crow.

Types of animal shelter

• Animals build or find places to stay safe, warm, and dry and to raise their young.
• Birds build nests; rabbits dig burrows; bears use caves; bees build hives.

Food and shelter work together

• Animals usually live close to their food source — a deer lives in a meadow near grass; a fish stays in a river where it can catch smaller fish.
• An animal’s body shape and teeth help it get the food it needs — sharp teeth for meat, flat teeth for plants.