Wildlife Word - carnivorous

Our last set of Wildlife Words looked at the times of day when animals like to be active:
diurnal (day)
nocturnal (night)
crepuscular (twilight)
matutinal (dawn)
vespertine (dusk)

We now turn to words that describe how animals like to eat, and our first word in this group is…

carnivorous

Pronunciation: \kär-ˈni-v(ə-)rəs\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin carnivorus, from carn-, caro + -vorus -vorous
Date: 1592

1: subsisting or feeding on animal tissues

2 of a plant : subsisting on nutrients obtained from the breakdown of animal protoplasm (as of insects)

3: of or relating to the carnivores4: rapacious
— car·niv·o·rous·ly adverb
— car·niv·o·rous·ness noun
— car·niv·ory noun

(Source: Merriam-Webster)

Carnivores are the meat eaters of the animal kingdom…  In future posts, we will learn about two main ways these carnivores seek their food.