5 Most Voracious Animals

These species are capable of devouring a lot of food in a very short time; its fangs can be very large compared to its body size. 

When we talk about the most voracious animals, we are referring to those that have the ability to devour a good amount of food in a few minutes or animals that consume much larger pieces than they do. Get to know some in the following article.

What are the most voracious animals out there?

Within this list, we’re not going to put some  dog breeds  that normally gobble up their food in seconds; but rather those wild species that survive by chasing prey when they find it.

The most voracious animals in the world are:

1. Piranha

This carnivorous fish (picture that opens this article) that lives in the warm waters of South America, is known for its ability to devour fish in a short space of time.

That’s because he  has very sharp teeth, is aggressive and has an insatiable appetite for meat. In some countries, the piranha is called ‘Caribbean’ in reference to an indigenous people with cannibal customs.

When they “smell” blood, they cannot resist the temptation to devour and eat,  even if it is a large animal or a person. Therefore, piranha attacks on humans are common in the Amazon.

1. Vulture

This bird of prey can also be included in the list of the most voracious animals, because  when they find a food, they can fight with stronger and bigger individuals  – such as hyenas – to obtain a good part of it.

The  vultures  spend many hours on top of rocks or twigs, watching everything around them. They can see a dead animal from a great distance and devour it with their pecks.

It is common to see them around a dying or sick individual, waiting for him to die in order to eat him.

1. moths

The isoptera family, best known for termites and moths, is famous throughout the world for its voracity and ability to devour wooden furniture or cotton fabrics. These insects feed on cellulose, which breaks down in your stomach.

Termites live in rainforests and savannas and can form underground colonies, in trees or in mounds of earth.

Feeding the termite nest is carried out as follows:  workers transport the food and deliver it to the rest of the colony, by regurgitation.

1. Hyena

Since we’re talking about vultures, we can’t ignore hyenas in this list of voracious animals, as they compete for dead prey.

The hyena is known for its somewhat macabre “laughter,” which is believed to scare competitors for food and, at the same time, notify the group that it has found a fair amount of carrion.

1. boa constrictor

Finally, we couldn’t ignore one of the most voracious animals in terms of the size of its prey.

The boa constrictor is a snake native to Latin America, which can be found from Mexico to Argentina. It prefers to live in forests and savannas, moving both on land and in trees.

As for its diet, it  can spend hours hidden among the foliage and only attacks at night, when it falls “suddenly” on its prey.

They have a thermosensitive system that allows them to detect the presence of an animal, such as a squirrel, a mouse, a bird, a lizard or a bat.

The size of the food is not a problem for her mouth, as it  has the ability to disengage her jaw and thus swallow the prey whole, even when they exceed it in size. After dinner, she can go weeks without moving, digesting.