The feet of a tiger and a horse are very different. The toes of a tiger end in sharp claws. A horse's toes end in hoofs. Claws are very helpful to a meat-eating animal. Hoofs are much better than claws for a plant-eating animal that walks about to graze.
There are a great many hoofed animals. Another name for them is "ungulates." This name comes from a Latin word meaning "nail" or "hoof."
All hoofed animals are plant eaters. Many of them chew a cud. They all live on the ground and move about by walking or running. Some of them are very swift. Others are rather slow and clumsy. No hoofed animals are tree-climbers. Many of them can swim, but only a few spend much time in the water.
Some hoofed animals have an even number of toes. The others, of course, have an odd number. The list names some of each:
Odd-toes: Donkey, horse, rhinoceros, tapir, zebra.
Even-toes: Alpaca, antelope, bison, camel, cow, deer, giraffe, goat, hippopotamus, llama, pig, sheep, vicuna, yak, zebu.
It is easy to see from the list that hoofed animals are very important to us. Many of the animals we have tamed are in this group. Most of our meat and all our milk comes from hoofed animals.
There are a great many hoofed animals. Another name for them is "ungulates." This name comes from a Latin word meaning "nail" or "hoof."
All hoofed animals are plant eaters. Many of them chew a cud. They all live on the ground and move about by walking or running. Some of them are very swift. Others are rather slow and clumsy. No hoofed animals are tree-climbers. Many of them can swim, but only a few spend much time in the water.
Some hoofed animals have an even number of toes. The others, of course, have an odd number. The list names some of each:
Odd-toes: Donkey, horse, rhinoceros, tapir, zebra.
Even-toes: Alpaca, antelope, bison, camel, cow, deer, giraffe, goat, hippopotamus, llama, pig, sheep, vicuna, yak, zebu.
It is easy to see from the list that hoofed animals are very important to us. Many of the animals we have tamed are in this group. Most of our meat and all our milk comes from hoofed animals.
