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The Order Carnivora
Flesh-eating mammals

Most carnivores are well equipped for meat-eating, with powerful jaws, large canine teeth, cheek teeth used for shearing and crushing and strong claws for gripping. Most have agile graceful bodies; but some, like the almost omnivorous bears, are more heavily built. Carnivores are divided into two sub-orders, depending on the structure of the bones of the skull surrounding the middle and inner parts of the ear.

Sub-Order Aeluroidea

Cats, hyenas and civets This sub-order of generally cat-like mammals contains three families.
Family Felidae Cats: 34 species Almost exclusively meat-eating, the cats are lightly built, with five digits on the front feet and four on the rear; almost all have strongly curved, retractile claws. They stalk their prey or lie in wait and spring on it with a short rush.
Family Hyaenidae Hyenas and aardwolf: 4 species Hyenas look rather like dogs, but their hindquarters are proportionally lower and less muscular. All have long limbs and large ears.
Family Viverridae Civets and allies: about 75 species These small and medium-sized carnivores of the warmer parts of the Old World have long low bodies, short legs, long - generally bushy - tails, and pointed snouts. There are five toes on the front feet. Most of them are active at night. Nearly all have scent glands.

Sub-Order Arctoidea

Dogs, weasels, bears and raccoons This sub-order of carnivores contains all the dog-like and bear-like mammals. There are four families.
Family Canidae Dogs: 37 species These animals with long slender limbs and bushy tails are generally good runners, moving on the tips of their toes. They have keen hearing and sight, but hunt mainly by scent and often run in packs of about 30. They can be divided broadly into dog-like and fox-like types. All have four toes on the front feet.
Family Mustelidae Weasels and their allies: about 70 species Most mustelids are small animals; they have long, slender bodies and long tails. They walk on the soles of the feet rather than on the tips of the toes as dogs do. There are five digits on both the front and hind feet.
Family Ursidae Bears: 7 species Except for the polar bear, which feed mainly on seals, bears are omnivorous. They are the largest carnivores, and are heavily built with short, powerful legs and short tails, and they walk on the soles of their feet.
Family Procyonidae Raccoons and pandas: 18 species Raccoons are found in the Americas and pandas in Asia. All closely resemble bears but are smaller and they have two molar teeth instead of the bears' three on each side of the lower jaw.

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