Consumers

The idea

Organisms that cannot make their own food and depend on other organisms are consumers or heterotrophs; herbivores eat only plants, carnivores only animals, and omnivores both plants and animals.

Who eats what

A deer eats grass. A leopard eats other animals. A crow eats both plants and animals.

What are these organisms, which cannot make their own food, called?

• Consumers
• Producers
• Decomposers

Sort by diet

Tap the bin where each belongs.

Eating others

Organisms that cannot produce their own food and depend on other organisms are called consumers or heterotrophs. Consumers are grouped by what they eat.

Consumers (heterotrophs; hetero = other, troph = food) depend on other organisms. Herbivores eat only plants, carnivores only animals, omnivores both.

• Type | Eats | Example
• Herbivore | Only plants | Deer, hare
• Carnivore | Only animals | Leopard
• Omnivore | Plants and animals | Crow, fox, mouse

Notes

Consumers depend on others: herbivores, carnivores, omnivores.

Check yourself

Organisms that cannot make their own food are called …

Organisms that eat only plants are …

A leopard is a …

Crows, foxes and mice eat both plants and animals. They are …

• producers. Producers make their own food.
• consumers — correct. Yes!
• autotrophs. Autotrophs make their own food.
• carnivores. Carnivores eat only animals.
• omnivores. Omnivores eat both.
• herbivores — correct. Yes!
• carnivore — correct. Yes!
• herbivore. A leopard does not eat only plants.
• omnivore. A leopard eats only animals.
• herbivores. They also eat animals.
• omnivores — correct. Yes!
• carnivores. They also eat plants.