Who Eats What? Introducing the Food Chain to Class 1 Kids

Introduction

Learning who eats what is a part of understanding how the food chain works. Every living thing on earth needs food to survive. Some animals only eat plants, some eat other animals and some of them eat both plants and animals. They are connected to each other based on what they eat and are a part of this big food chain. Let’s understand who eats who in a food chain based on their types.

Table of Contents

• What Is a Food Chain?
• Classification of Animals Based on What They Eat

What is a Food Chain

A food chain describes how one animal depends on another animal for survival. This connection between all different animals forms a chain that we call as the food chain. All animals, plants and insects are part of this food chain on earth. Some of the living things in our food chain are producers, consumers and decomposer in a food chain:

• Producers: Are the members of the food chain who produce food, like plants. Plants use sunlight, water and minerals from soil to produce their own food using the photosynthesis process are known as producers in the food chain.
• Consumers: Consumers are animals that eat producers like deer eat grass. There are different types of consumers:
  a) Primary consumers or herbivores are the animals that consume plants, like sheep, elephants, goats, etc.
  b) Secondary consumers or carnivores are animals that consume herbivores. For example, snake, lizard, etc.

         c) Tertiary consumers are the carnivores that eat other carnivores. For example, tiger, leopard, etc.

• Decomposers: Decomposers are organisms that decompose plants and animals. They eat dead plants and animals. For example, bacteria and fungi.

Classification of Animals Based on What They Eat

Based on the eating habits of animals, we can classify each animal into three different groups that help us to understand their role in the food chain.

Herbivorous Animals

Animals that only eat plants are known as herbivores or herbivorous animals. These animals are classified as primary consumers in the food chain, as they consume the producers. For example, deer, zebra, sheep, etc., all these animals eat grass and plants, which are producers in the food chain.

Carnivorous Animals

Animals that eat other animals are called carnivorous animals. Carnivorous animals are classified as secondary and tertiary consumers in the food chain. Animals that eat other herbivorous animals are classified as secondary consumers in the food chain. For example, snakes, lizards, etc. Carnivores that eat other carnivorous animals and are classified as tertiary consumers. 

For example, a hawk that eats other carnivorous animals. In the food chain, snakes are classified as a secondary consumer that eats herbivorous animals like rats and a hawk is classified as a tertiary consumer that eats other carnivorous animals like snakes.

Omnivorous Animals

Some animals eat both plants and animals. Such animals are known as omnivorous animals. For example, dogs, cats, pigs, etc.