Attack of the Flesh Eating Vegetarians!

A grey squirrel snacks on a bird.

This morning I tackled the question of why dogs eat grass.

Now, let's look at the inverse.

Do elephants and hippos ever eat the flesh of large animals?

Do squirrels and chipmunks ever eat eggs and insects?

And the answer is "YES."

No, this does not happen every day, but it happens often enough that it is well known and well within the arc of "normal," if not typical, of the species.

Why?

Why do "vegetarians" sometimes eat flesh?

The answer, as with dogs, is that it is maladaptive for them not to do so.

A squirrel, chipmunk, hippo, elephant, or deer may occasionally get a massive calorie, iron, salt or calcium boost by eating all or part of a dead wildebeest, zebra, eland, or baby bird.

The divisions between "carnivore" and "vegetarian," then, are not quite as neat as some would have us believe.
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