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Graminivore

Horses, cattle, geese, guinea pigs, hippopotamuses, capybara and giant pandas are examples of vertebrate graminivores. Some carnivorous vertebrates, such as dogs and cats, are known to eat grass occasionally. Grass consumption in dogs can be a way to rid their intestinal tract of parasites that may be threatening to the carnivore's health.^[3] Various invertebrates also have graminivorous diets. Many grasshoppers, such as individuals from the family Acrididae, have diets consisting primarily of plants from the family Poaceae.^[4] Although humans are not graminivores, we do get much of our nutrition from a type of grass called cereal, and especially from the fruit of that grass which is called grain.^[5]

Graminivores generally exhibit a preference on which species of grass they choose to consume. For example, according to a study done on North American bison feeding on shortgrass plains in north-eastern Colorado, the cattle consumed a total of thirty-six different species of plant. Of that thirty-six, five grass species were favoured and consumed the most pervasively. The average consumption of these five species comprised about 80% of their diet. A few of these species include Aristida longiseta, Muhlenbergia species, and Bouteloua gracilis.^[6]

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  Red kangaroo eating grass
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  Horses grazing in a field
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  Acapybara grazing at Hattiesburg Zoo

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