Can carnivores change their diet?

Creationism, Evolution, and other science issues

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Nickman
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Can carnivores change their diet?

Post #1

Post by Nickman »

Here is a snippet from another thread;
nothead wrote:
Making fun of the idea that carnivores will stop eating other animals.
It could happen, right? Why not?
I posted that it could not happen because of their digestive system.

Can carnivores change their diet?

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Goat
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Re: Can carnivores change their diet?

Post #2

Post by Goat »

Nickman wrote: Here is a snippet from another thread;
nothead wrote:
Making fun of the idea that carnivores will stop eating other animals.
It could happen, right? Why not?
I posted that it could not happen because of their digestive system.

Can carnivores change their diet?
Dry dog food is not meat. Dogs are supposed to be carnivores.

Wolves can survive on a diet of kibbles and bits.
“What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?�

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Nickman
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Re: Can carnivores change their diet?

Post #3

Post by Nickman »

Goat wrote:
Nickman wrote: Here is a snippet from another thread;
nothead wrote:
Making fun of the idea that carnivores will stop eating other animals.
It could happen, right? Why not?
I posted that it could not happen because of their digestive system.

Can carnivores change their diet?
Dry dog food is not meat. Dogs are supposed to be carnivores.

Wolves can survive on a diet of kibbles and bits.
But the majority of the diet is protein, not plants. Can a carnivore change their diet?

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Post #4

Post by Wootah »

I read creation.com and they sometimes talk about surprising situations where carnivores become vegetarians. http://creation.com/vegetarian-shark

There are other examples on there but that one came up first.
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Post #5

Post by Nickman »

Wootah wrote: I read creation.com and they sometimes talk about surprising situations where carnivores become vegetarians. http://creation.com/vegetarian-shark

There are other examples on there but that one came up first.
So a captive shark whom is given a vegetarian diet is proof of carnivorous animals going veg? And her teeth mean absolutely nothing?

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Post #6

Post by Nickman »

Did you forget to say that she is protein deficient without them pumping protein into her?
'Nurse sharks do occasionally graze on algae in the wild, and we weren’t surprised when Florence first stole some of Molokai’s greens,' said Graham.

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Re: Can carnivores change their diet?

Post #7

Post by DanieltheDragon »

[Replying to post 2 by Goat]

Just to be clear dogs are scavengers and they do possess omnivorous capability. My dog for example has a pretty well rounded diet of carrots bananas apples and various meats. However, dogs possess enzymes that help them break down plant matter and not nearly as successfully as herbivores and traditional omnivores. However, given the opportunity even after hundreds of years of domestication my dog would still chase down a squirrel and eat it. You cannot change the diet of a true carnivore without drastic health ramifications to the animal. Not to mention the mental aspect.

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Re: Can carnivores change their diet?

Post #8

Post by Goat »

DanieltheDragon wrote: [Replying to post 2 by Goat]

Just to be clear dogs are scavengers and they do possess omnivorous capability. My dog for example has a pretty well rounded diet of carrots bananas apples and various meats. However, dogs possess enzymes that help them break down plant matter and not nearly as successfully as herbivores and traditional omnivores. However, given the opportunity even after hundreds of years of domestication my dog would still chase down a squirrel and eat it. You cannot change the diet of a true carnivore without drastic health ramifications to the animal. Not to mention the mental aspect.

Yes.. and not only that.. but deer do have the capacity to eat meat too... so do rabbits.

I suspect that if the environment changed, you can have a carnivore r or an herbivore going to be an omnivores ... or an omnivore going to be either a herbivore or carnivore... either that or go extinct.
“What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?�

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Re: Can carnivores change their diet?

Post #9

Post by DanieltheDragon »

[Replying to post 8 by Goat]

exactly


which is why you might not be able to change the diet specifically of an animal or their natural predilections but over time a population can adapt to environmental stimuli or go extinct. Like dogs the ones that had enzymes to digest carbohydrates had a survival advantage when food was scarce.(for those that don't know how evolution works)
Last edited by DanieltheDragon on Mon Jun 02, 2014 9:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Can carnivores change their diet?

Post #10

Post by Goat »

DanieltheDragon wrote: [Replying to post 8 by Goat]

exactly which is why you might not be able to change the diet specifically of an animal or their natural predilections but over time a population can adapt to environmental stimuli. Like dogs the ones that had enzymes to digest carbohydrates had a survival advantage when food was scarce.

Over time. In a natural setting, and a reasonable stable environment, you won't see that, often. It can happen over time.
“What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?�

Steven Novella

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