Last updated on October 10th, 2022
Apples are popular edible fruits that are obtained from apple trees. It is rich in vitamins, dietary fiber, and antioxidants that make it a healthy fruit option for many animals, including most humans.
Animals that like apples:
- Horses
- Rabbits
- Dogs
- Turkeys
- Gophers
- Cows
- Pigs
- Donkeys
- Monkeys
- Deer
- Squirrels
- Hedgehogs
- Chickens
- Elks
One hundred grams of this fruit will only give you 52 calories, out of which 40 are from sugar. Still, this sugar is natural and not chemically refined, so taking it in moderate quantities is considered safe, and the protein present in it is 0.3 grams.
These fruits are available in various colors and shapes, and in this article, you will come across various animals that include them in their diet.
List of animals that eat apples:
1. Horses
Horses are one-toed hoofed mammals used for domestic purposes and of the Equidae family. Around 4000 BC, their domestication began, and by 300 BC, it was considered widespread.
They have adopted a peculiar trait that helps them quickly escape from predators, and they have the capability of sleeping in lying and standing poses, respectively.
Young horses are known as foals, and they prefer to sleep noticeably longer than full-grown ones.
Horses feed on grass, corn, hay, fruits, and vegetables which can enhance their diet or become their occasional treat.
They consider apples a delicacy, although they consider chopping the fruit before giving it to them.
2. Rabbits
Rabbits are little mammals that are also popular as bunnies and are in the Lagomorpha order’s Leporidae family.
They have incisor teeth behind one another in two sets and they are frequently mistaken to be rodents, but this trait helps to differentiate them.
The hind bones of their legs are large with well-developed musculature that provides agility and speed, which helps them to escape predators like the swift foxes.
They use their toes for running rather than the plantigrade. They must eat fresh grass and hay, but they can enjoy vegetables and fruits in moderation.
Rabbits can also safely consume apple flesh but not its stems and seeds.
3. Dogs
The dog is the wolf’s descendant, domesticated and characterized by its upturning tail. Their closest relative alive is the species of the modern grey wolf.
The hunter-gatherers first domesticated dogs 15,000 years earlier. A few studies suggest that dogs can see Earth’s magnetic field, although they are sensitive to it.
Their other senses include smell, hearing, vision, touch, and taste.
Dogs are mostly carnivorous and feed on plant matter, although wild dogs’ diet includes mostly prey animals.
If you feed your dog with apple flesh, excluding the fruit’s seeds and core, then it can add Vitamin C and A with dietary fiber to its diet.
4. Turkeys
Turkey is indigenous to North America and this Meleagris genus’s large bird has two extant species, the ocellated turkey and the wild turkey.
Males of both species have a unique fleshy wattle known as a snood, which hangs from the beak’s top.
The females are smaller and comparatively dull than the males, like numerous large-sized ground-feeding birds.
They are one of their range’s largest birds. Domestic turkeys evolved from wild turkeys and they were domesticated roughly 2,000 years earlier.
Turkeys mostly feed on leaves and grasses in the spring along with berries, insects, seeds, and fruits in the fall. They relish fruits like grapes and apples.
5. Gophers
Pocket gophers are simply called gophers; these burrowing rodents belong to the Geomyidae family.
Approximately 41 of their species are endemic to Central and North America. They are notorious for destroying gardens as well as farms and they are associated with comprehensive tunneling activities.
Numerous ground squirrels of the Sciuridae and their distantly-related family are frequently referred to as ‘gophers.’
Their body length ranges from 15 to 20 cm and weigh nearly 200 g. Females are usually smaller than males and almost half of their weight.
These herbivores like to feed on the plant’s tubers and roots. Fruits like apples are also alluring to them.
6. Cows
The cow is a large cloven-hooved herbivorous mammal, domesticated and raised for its milk, meat, and hides used for making leather. They are also put into use as draft and riding animals.
Cow dung can be used to form fuel or used as an organic fertilizer.
Most of its breeds are with horns that can be as tiny as a scur or as big as the Texas Longhorns. Hornless or Polled cattle got widespread for cautious genetic selection.
Over half of their feed consists of grass, silage, or hay and they eat fruits like apples, bananas, pears, and watermelon like delicacies.
7. Pigs
Pigs are frequently called swine and these omnivorous, even-toed, ungulates are domesticated.
Their head-plus-body length varies from 0.9-1.8 m, and the full-grown ones weigh around 50-350 kg, and the well-fed ones even weigh beyond this range.
A pig’s breed strongly influences its size and weight and when comparing them with other artiodactyls, their head is comparatively pointed and long.
They are raised mainly for meat which is called pork and their group is known as a passel, sounder, or team.
Pigs get their nutrition from both plants and animals; they feed on roots, flowers, leaves, grasses, and little fishes and animals. They are also known to consume apples, oranges, melons, and other fruits.
8. Donkeys
The worldwide population of donkeys is over 40 million; they are present and used primarily as pack and draught animals predominantly in underdeveloped countries.
Developed countries keep a small number of donkeys as pets or for breeding purposes. Male donkeys are referred to as jack and a female ones as jennet.
A Jack mate with a female horse to produce a mule, and if the sex of the donkey and horse is reversed, then the young one is referred to as a hinny.
Donkeys need a high-fiber diet; they feed mostly on grass, corn, and hay; they eat barley straws, although they are also known for having fruits like apples and bananas.
9. Monkeys
The majority of the Simiiformes or simians infraorder mammals are commonly named monkeys.
Excluding the apes, all the members of the simian group are considered to be monkeys and they are divided into two families, the Old World monkeys, and New World monkeys.
Numerous monkey species like arboreal are tree-dwelling, though some species like baboons live predominantly on the ground.
Monkeys and apes have similar characteristics.
Their size varies from the 117 mm long and 100 gm heavy pygmy marmoset that also has a 172 mm tail to approx a meter long and 36 kg heavy mandrill.
These omnivorous creatures mostly feed on nuts, seeds, flowers, and fruits like apples and bananas, though some also include small lizards, bird’s eggs, and insects in their diet.
Do monkeys eat apples? If you are looking for an in-depth explanation of the topic, check out our article for more information.
10. Deer
The Cervidae family is formed by ruminant mammals called deer. These hoofed creatures comprise two major groups, namely Capreolinae and Cervinae.
Excluding the Chinese water deer and including the female reindeer, all-male species of deer shed and regrow their antlers every year.
This distinguishes their antlers from the permanent horns of antlers of the Bovidae family.
The 2.6 m long and 800 kg heavy moose is larger than any other extant deer species. They are found in numerous biomes, from the tundras to tropical rainforests.
A deer’s primary diet consists of sedges, shoots, leaves, trees, and fruits like apples and nuts like acorns.
11. Squirrels
The Sciuridae family includes small-medium-sized rodents like squirrels; the squirrel family consists of ground squirrels, tree squirrels, flying squirrels, prairie dogs, chipmunks, and marmots like groundhogs.
They are inhabitants of the Americas, Africa, and Eurasia.
The African Pygmy squirrel measures only 10-14 cm in length and weighs about 12-26 grams, whereas the Bhutan giant flying squirrel can even be 1.27 m long.
Most squirrels have longer hind limbs when compared to their forelimbs.
Squirrels are mostly vegetarians and enjoy acorns, corn, broccoli, peanuts, squash, and walnuts. They also like having oranges, apricots, avocados, as well as apples.
12. Hedgehogs
Hedgehogs are the Erinaceidae subfamily’s spiny mammals. They are present in 5 genera with 17 species and are found across Asia, Africa, Europe, and New Zealand through the introduction.
Their most usual traits include their spines and hollow hairs stiffened by keratin.
Their spines are not-poisonous and are not barbed, and it does not detach easily from their body, unlike the porcupine’s quills.
Hedgehogs are mostly nocturnal, albeit some species may be active during the day. They feed on invertebrates like beetles, worms, slugs, millipedes, caterpillars, lawn grubs as well as earwigs.
They can also have small amounts of fresh apples as their treats.
13. Chickens
Chickens are Southeast Asia’s red junglefowl’s domesticated subspecies that belong to the Galliformes order.
They were not originally raised for their meat but for special ceremonies or cockfighting till the Hellenistic period.
They are now raised for their eggs and meat, and their population is 23.7 billion making them one of the most widespread and usual domestic animals.
This world has more chickens than any other species of bird. Over fifty billion chickens are being reared annually, and over 8 billion of them are butchered for their meat in the United States.
These omnivores like having corn, lawn grubs, bread, rice, cereals, table scraps, vegetables, and fruits like apples and kiwis.
14. Elk
Elks will likely stay interested in apples for a longer period of time than other foods if they approach an area with lots of them.
Using apples to attract elks is possible since they are attracted to the smell and sweetness of fruit trees.
Oftentimes it would be difficult for the elk to reach apples on the trees so they are more likely to consume the ones that have fallen to the ground.
If you are interested in reading more about elk eating apples, you can check out that article for more information.
What animals eat apples?
The animals that eat apples are horses, rabbits, dogs, turkeys, gophers, cows, pigs, donkeys, monkeys, deer, squirrels, hedgehogs, and chickens. Apple is palatable for these animals and is an excellent source of energy, however, even though it promotes healthy digestion, it should be fed to them in moderation.
