Frugivore facts for kids
A frugivore is an animal that mostly eats fruit. The word "frugivore" comes from Latin words meaning "fruit eater."
Plant Reproduction and Frugivores
Fruit is a very important part of how plants reproduce. Plants use a lot of energy to make fruit. They create fruit to attract animals to eat it. When an animal eats the fruit, it digests the soft part but not the seeds. This helps the plant spread its seeds far away. The seeds can then grow into new plants wherever the animal goes.
Sometimes, seeds need to pass through an animal's digestive system (like the stomach and intestines) before they can sprout. Frugivores have also developed different ways to eat various fruits. Some use their teeth, while others use long or short beaks.
Who Are Some Frugivores?
Many birds eat both fruits and insects. This makes them omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals. Many mammals also eat fruits. Some, like many bats, eat mostly fruit or nectar (a sweet liquid from flowers).
One group of primates, called Owl Monkeys, mostly eats plants and fruits. They live in parts of the Amazon where there are always fruiting trees available. In other places, animals cannot live only on fruit. They often eat insects or other plant parts to get enough nutrients.
Even though humans can eat fruit, it's unlikely that our early ancestors ate only fruit. However, almost all primates and even meat-eating animals will travel long distances to feast when a fruit tree is full of ripe fruit. Many animals remember exactly when and where a fruit tree will have fruit. This shows how nutritious and important fruit is for them.
Images for kids
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A Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) eating a fruit.
See also
In Spanish: Frugívoro para niños
