What Animal Eats Trees?
Termites and other wood-feeding insects, beavers, giraffes, elephants, rabbits, rodents and porcupines all eat trees, in whole or in part. Wood-eating insects are able to devour thousands of trees and lumber a year, classifying them as some of the most serious and damaging wood consumers.
Termites are some of the most voracious wood feeders in the world. Wood borers and bark beetles also feed on wood debris.
Animals that feed on the wood and bark of trees have specialized digestive systems and turn to trees to acquire nourishment. Beavers, in particular, rely on woody vegetation for their diets, but generally eat bark in winter where food is scarce. Giraffes, elephants, rabbits, rodents and porcupines eat the external and inner bark, leaves and twigs of woody plants and the branches of trees, but not the whole tree.
