Animal
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Animals are living things. Animals are not plants so they can't make their own food or energy from the light of the sun. Animals have to eat other living things (animals, plants, fungi, etc.) to get energy to live. Many animals live in this world. Some are big and some are small. Some live in water, others live on the ground and some animals can fly. The ability to be mobile is an other distinctive characteristic of an animal.
Animals that only eat plants are called herbivores. Other animals eat only meat, and are called carnivores. Animals that eat both plants and meat are called omnivores. Animals are divided into groups; see animalia. Their mode of nutrition is known as heterotrophic nutrition because they eat other living organisms as food in order to survive.
There are animals living in solitary and groups. Examples of animals living in solitary are tigers, rhinoceros, cheetah and more. Examples of animals living in groups are coyotes, bee, monkeys and more. Animals living in solitary do not have to share food among each other. Animals living in groups have lower chances of becoming ones' prey. Bees and ants are grouped in a special group called a colony. In a colony, the animals work together in a special way and usually has a leader. The leader of the bees is called the Queen Bee.
Below are some common collective noun for groups of different animals:
- A herd of horses, buffalos, cow (mainly for herbivours)
- A pack of wolves, wild dogs (mainly for carnivorous animals living in groups)
- A flock of birds
- A colony of ants, bees
- A smack of jellyfish
- A swarm of locust (or other insects that fly together in a large number)
- A school or shoal of fish
- A skulk of foxes
