Image: Paul Souders / Stone / Getty Images
About This Quiz
Whether it be a grass-guzzling goat or a plant-powered pika, these animals all have something in common: their diet. Let's get to the root of what makes a herbivore a ... well, herbivore!
While carnivores and omnivores get at least a portion of their nutrients from animals, herbivores strictly rely on vegetation for their meals. Often, herbivores will spend their entire day eating just to gain enough energy to survive.
When it comes to the circle of life, herbivores play a vital role in the food chain. These animals are the first to eat the producers (or plants), and thus they are able to harness a fraction of that energy and pass it along to other animals that may prey on herbivorous creatures.
Herbivore is a general classification, as there are subcategories, depending on what an animal eats. For instance, critters that have a diet of mostly fruit, such as flying foxes, are called frugivores, and those that eat wood, such as termites, are known as xylophages.
Do you have what it takes to tell one plant eater from another? Then grow ahead and test out your knowledge by naming these 40 green gobblers of the animal kingdom! (We beleaf in you!)
Antelope
Bushbuck
The bushbuck's diet consists mostly of grass, though this animal also eats fruit, tubers, flowers, tree bark, herbs and shrubs. Most of the water a bushbuck needs to survive comes from the plant-based food it eats.
Deer
Bongo
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Wildebeest
Elk
Yak
Bison
An adult male bison (a bull) can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds, while an adult female (a cow) can weigh up to 1,000. The hump on a bison is made up of muscle and allows the animal to charge and forage through snow with ease.
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Green iguana
The tail of a green iguana makes up roughly half of its overall length. While this herbivore is famous for being green, it can be found in other colors as well, including brown and even turquoise!
Gecko
Bearded dragon
Skink
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Barbary macaque
Howler monkey
It's easy to see how these monkeys get their name, as the howl or roar they make can be heard from as far as three miles away! Howler monkeys can be found in Central and South America.
Chimpanzee
Mandrill
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Bull
Elephant
Hippopotamus
A hippopotamus spends the majority of its time in rivers and lakes. A hippopotamus' nose, eyes and ears are on the top of its head, making it easy for this animal to stay mostly submerged. A hippo is able to close its nostrils when necessary.
Rhinoceros
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Goat
Did you know that a goat can learn its name like a dog? Humans began herding goats roughly 9,000 years ago, and these animals were one of the first species that humans started taming.
Sheep
Llama
Alpaca
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Egyptian fruit bat
Egyptian fruit bats use echolocation to find food, meaning these little creatures send out a series of high-pitched clicks that lead to vibrations from food sources. Egyptian fruit bats dine on a variety of fruits and sometimes leaves.
Flying fox
Vampire bat
Kitti's hog-nosed bat
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Hippopotamus
Elephant
The African savanna, the African forest and the Asian are the three different species of elephant. How do you tell them apart? Their ears! Asian elephants have small ears shaped like India, while African elephants have larger ears shaped like — you guessed it — Africa!
Rhinoceros
Camel
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Cow
Reindeer
Caribou
A caribou's stomach is made up of four chambers, like cows, which makes it easier for this animal to digest its food. Caribou feed on grass, berries, seeds, leaves, lichen and willow twigs.
Elk
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Chinchilla
Quokka
Guinea pig
Capybara
When fully grown, capybaras can eat a whopping eight pounds of grass in just one day! These animals have also been known to eat their own poop, which, while not as appetizing as grass, has bacteria that help with digestion.
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Red kangaroo
Did you know that kangaroos are the only big animals to use hopping as their main method of travel? Kangaroos dine on an assortment of vegetation, including flowers, leaves, grass and moss.
Wallaby
Koala
Dingo
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Ostrich
Goose
Geese have each others' backs, and if one gets injured while flying, the rest of the flock will slow down for their fallen comrade. Geese dine on grass, seeds and berries, with blueberries being one of their favorites. While they're primarily herbivorous, they will occasionally enjoy an insect or two.
Duck
Turkey
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Gerenuk
Waterbuck
Kangaroo
Gazelle
Did you know that worldwide there are 19 different species of gazelle? Gazelles feast on leaves, shoots and grass, and gerenuk gazelles are able to stand on their hind legs to enjoy hard-to-reach tender twigs.
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Donkey
Donkeys are very intelligent animals. These herbivores have great memories, and they've been known to recognize familiar places and fellow donkey faces even when 25 years have passed!
Horse
Mule
Reindeer
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Chevrotain
Chevrotains are also known as "mouse-deer" for their appearance, though they aren't related to either mice or deer. These animals can stay underwater for up to four minutes to avoid predators.
Chipmunk
Field mouse
Kangaroo rat
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Dragonfly
Caterpillar
Butterfly
All over the world, there are more than 17,500 different species of butterflies. Monarchs, unlike other butterfly species, migrate to warmer climates when the temperature begins to drop.
Moth
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Grasshopper
Certain types of grasshopper are able to eat roughly half of their body weight in plants every day. These insects can jump nearly one meter in length, which for humans would be the equivalent of jumping a football field!
Cricket
Praying mantis
Beetle
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Tapir
Hippopotamus
Elephant
Rhinoceros
While these animals only dine on plants, that certainly doesn't inhibit their size. There are five different species of rhinoceros, and all can grow to weigh more than 2,200 pounds.
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Gazelle
Okapi
While the stripes might have you thinking otherwise, the okapi is the only animal to belong in the same family as the giraffe. At 14 to 18 inches in length, an okapi's tongue helps it to grasp tasty leaves.
Zebra
Reindeer
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Manatee
Manatees are known to eat algae, sea grass and even acorns. Algae also grow on manatees, creating an interesting relationship. In just one day, a manatee can eat a tenth of its body weight.
Dugong
Dolphin
Orca
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Squirrel
Beaver
Sugar glider
Pika
Pikas eat vegetation, such as herbs and grass, and during summer they will store some of their food to stock up for winter. These little animals survive in colonies, where they communicate using both scents and sounds.
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Elk
Moose
Did you know that only male moose are able to grow antlers? These natural ornaments can reach up to five feet in length and weigh more than 60 pounds! Once each year, moose lose their antlers.
Buffalo
Reindeer
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Toucan
Peafowl
Parrot
There are over 370 species of these colorful birds, with the majority living in tropical parts of the world. Did you know that certain parrots can live to be more than 80 years old? Talk about over the hill!
Canary
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Rat
Gerbil
Hamster
Mouse
In addition to helping these animals feel their surroundings, the whiskers of mice tell them when the temperature changes. A mouse's nearly hairless tail can grow to be as long as its body.
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Kouprey
The last kouprey was seen in the wild in 1998, though experts believe they still exist. Both female and male koupreys have horns, and the varying sizes and shapes of their horns can be used to tell the gender — males have longer horns that arch upward and forward.
Water buffalo
Wildebeest
Deer
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Triceratops
Patagotitan
Stegosaurus
The stegosaurus walked the earth more than 150 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period. With inflexible jaws, tiny teeth and short necks, these dinosaurs probably dined primarily on low-lying vegetation, such as shrubs.
Diplodocus
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Solomon Island skink
To protect their young, both Solomon Island skink parents work together, making these reptiles one of the few species to do so. While many other types of lizards can regrow their tail if it's broken off, Solomon Island skinks cannot.
Gecko
Iguana
Komodo dragon
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Lemming
Otter
Gopher
Chinchilla
Did you know that just one square centimeter of a chinchilla's fur can contain nearly 20,000 hairs? That's the highest fur density of any animal on land. In the wild, these animals are nocturnal and feed primarily on shrubs and grass.
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Koala
While it's sometimes thought that koalas sleep up to 22 hours per day because the eucalyptus oil intoxicates them, their sleep cycle actually has a purpose. When a koala rests, it's able to conserve the energy needed to digest its food.
Wombat
Quoll
Thylacine
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Oryx
Giant eland
Despite their large size, giant elands can run as fast as 43 miles per hour. A giant eland's diet typically consists of foliage, grass and even fruit, such as plums, when it's available.
Springbok
Hartebeest
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Beetles
Stoneflies
Termites
Ants
Did you know that there are over 12,000 different species of ants? Ants are able to pick up something as heavy as 20 times their body weight. Since ants don't have ears, they use vibrations to sense their surroundings.
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Beaver
Coypu
Rabbit
Throughout its life, a rabbit can be described in a variety of ways. For instance, as a baby, a rabbit is known as a kit or kitten. An adult female rabbit is known as a doe, while the male is called a buck.
Otter
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Hoatzin
A hoatzin eats for nearly four hours every day, once in the early morning and again during the late evening. This bird will feast on the leaves of different types of plants, such as arums, legumes and succulents.
Peafowl
Quail
Pheasant
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Gerbil
Rat
Degu
Degus are a type of octodon. You can find octodons living in different parts of South America, such as Peru, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. Unlike many rodents, degus are diurnal, rather than nocturnal.
Mole
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Sheep
Mountain goat
Alpaca
Llama
Llamas feed on ferns, grass and hay, and they can eat as much as 10 pounds of hay in just one day! Llamas are very social animals, living in herds which have social orders that sometimes cause the animals to fight.
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Camel
A camel's lips help it to eat, as their thickness enables the camel to dine on thorny plants that others can't. While commonly thought to contain water, a camel's hump is used to store fat — up to 80 pounds!
Guanaco
Llama
Alpaca
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Ox
Tapir
Warthog
Tamaraw
A tamaraw typically lives to be between 20 and 25 years of age. Tamaraws are endangered, with just 300 believed to still exist. These plant-eating animals can only be found in the Philippines.
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Red deer
Roe deer
Saola
In 1992, saolas were discovered in the wild for the first time, and since then they've only been photographed a few times. They were found living between the border of Laos and Vietnam, and their name translates to mean "spindle horns" in Vietnamese.
Fallow deer
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Tortoise
Did you know that a group of tortoises is known as a creep? Tortoises with dark-colored shells typically live in cooler areas, while those with light-colored shells are more often found in warmer places.
Box turtle
Sea turtle
Snapping turtle
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Badger
Giant panda
While known for their black and white fur, giant pandas actually begin life pink (and not so giant). A giant panda can eat a whopping 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo in just a single day!
Cow
Lemur
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You Got:
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