What eats cactus?

Answer 1

A cactus plant is attractive to other wildlife, particularly in the desert. It offers one stop shopping for drink and food, and sometimes employment, through its often edible, flavorful flowers, fruits and seeds. So its body parts may be eaten by any of a number of other life forms. For example, the sugary solution that the barrel cactus [Ferocactus spp] secretes in summer both employs and feeds pollinating ants. Pollinating bats also find food and jobs from cactus plants that have fleshy, foul smelling, night flowering blooms. Pollinating hummingbirds likewise have their food and job search met by cactus plants that have vividly colored, tubular blooms. Pollinating moths similarly meet food and job needs through jungle cactus plants that have large, pale, perfumed blooms.

Just as popular as flowers are a cactus plant's fruits. Once again, it's one stop shopping for wildlife in search of drink, food, and jobs. In this case, the work relates to seed dispersal. The more seeds that are spread, the more chances that wildlife has of finding fruiting cactus plants in their own neighborhoods. That means less energy and time spent scouting out cactus plant niches for desert birds, coyotes, foxes, mice, peccaries, rabbits, and rats.

And just as popular as the flowers and fruits are a cactus plant's roots. Once more, it's one stop shopping for wildlife on the trail of drink, food, and jobs. Here, the work relates to mutually beneficial relationships such as nitrogen fixing. Nitrogen only can be taken up by cactus roots if it's in soluble form. That may be a problem in the moisture poor desert. But it isn't a problem with the presence of such soil food web members as nitrogen fixing bacteria and nematodes.

Answer 2

The old man cactus [Cephalocereus spp] grows a downy beard of long, silky, soft white spines around its stem. Its beard makes it difficult for wildlife to access its stem, for nesting. Its yellow, white or pink Trumpet shaped flowers aren't followed by wildlife friendly fruits. Instead, they're followed by round seedpods that split conveniently open when ripe. Wildlife therefore need not attack the intimidating columnar stem, whose mature height is a lofty 50 feet/15 meters. Instead, area birds and rodents just need to wait for the pod to open, for them to eat the contents.

The cactus has to worry more about environmental conditions than about wildlife. It grows in subtropical and tropical Mexico, where it favors seashores and mountains. So it has to worry about being eaten by such humidity lovers as bacteria, fungi, and microbes.

Answer 3

Desert mammals may consider the cactus a food source. Above ground, they may be discouraged by spines. But below ground they're attracted to the roots, which take in and transport water and dissolved nutrients. So the roots are sources of moisture in a moisture poor and rainfall scarce world. They also may be homes and prey for other food sources, such as nematodes and other soil food web members.

Answer 4

a lot of things eat it javillina, deer etc..... even humans eat it

Answer 5

A rabbit and a deer