Carnivora

Reminder: Clicking on the picture will take you to the site where I originally found it.

No, there's no way I can possibly list all of the carnivores. Everyone has a favorite carnivore (or two) and I can't possibly do them all justice. Here's what I'll do though. I'll give you a short overview about carnivores, and then spell out the families of carnivores with a list of critters that belong in each family. You won't get a ton of information, but you'll get a good representation.

All members of this order have very similar digestive systems. They all have canine teeth as well. These sharp teeth enable these creatures to live off a diet which consists of the flesh of other animals. Not all of these creatures are strict meat eaters. Some balance their diet with plants too. You'll note that although humans eat meat, we're not considered carnivores. We don't have the same teeth that cats and dogs do, and teeth are very important to those who classify mammals.

For the sake of clarity, let's group the carnivores into three groups. Let's call the first the dog-like carnivores and second we'll call the cat-like carnivores. Finally, let's go with the pinnipeds, or those with flippers for feet.

Dog-like carnivores
	Canidae foxes (all varieties), domestic dog, dingo, Dhole, jackal, coyote, wolf
	Ursidae giant pandas, red pandas, bears (all types)
	Procyonidae raccoons, cacomistles, coatimundis, kinkajous, olingos
	Mustelidae weasels, stoats, polecats, ferrets, mink, marten, fishers,tayras, wolverines, grisons, badgers, skunks, otters,
Cat-like carnivores
	Viverridae civets, linsangs, genets, palm civets,toddy cats, binturong, fossas
	Herpestidae mongooses, meerkats, suricats, fossas
	Hyaenidae hyaenas aardwolf
	Felidae cheetahs, kittys, jagual, lynx, lions leopards tigers
Former Pinnipeds (semi-marine mammals)
	Phocidae earless seals
	Otariidae sea lions, seals
	Odobenidae walrus