Last updated on October 7th, 2022
We all love juicy watermelons, and it’s a favorite snack that’s low in calories and delicious at the same time. Some of us even grow this fruit in the backyard to munch on any time we like.
However, did you know that your beautifully grown watermelons can be a favorite snack of many animals as well?
Animals that eat watermelons:
- Squirrels
- Guinea Pigs
- Lemurs
- Tortoises
- Hippos
- Elephants
- Wolves
- Monkeys
- Cats
- Dogs
- Polar Bears
- Otters
- Rabbits
- Parrots
- Coyotes
- Deer
- Raccoons
- Pigeons
You may have already seen holes in your watermelons and got fed up with catching your culprit. But here’s your answer to, “What animal eats watermelon?” If you have watermelons growing in your garden, there’s a high chance that various wildlife species will nibble at those colorful and delicious fruits regularly.
Not only pests or insects, but large animals and small rodents may also be the “artists” behind your holed watermelon art!
List of animals that eat watermelon
1. Squirrels
As long as the watermelons aren’t mixed with any pesticides, this fruit is totally safe and healthy for squirrels.
Squirrels can eat almost all the parts of a watermelon, including its seeds, flesh, and rinds, as well as the crop’s leaves and vines.
Squirrels aren’t asking for permission before they nibble on this fruit unless you encase the area that it’s being grown in.
However, feel free to share watermelons with your squirrels because they’ll enjoy munching on them!
2. Guinea Pigs
A majority of guinea pigs absolutely love watermelons, and just like us, they’ll gobble it up with delight.
Besides, watermelons come with Vitamin C, which is also an essential part of the rodent’s diet.
Don’t worry too much about your fruits, as guinea pigs normally consume watermelons in moderation.
Because feeding on large amounts of food, such as fruits and vegetables, is not healthy for guinea pigs.
They’ll nibble on some hay, leafy greens as well as watermelons throughout the day.
Watermelons are not only a great snack for guinea pigs but it also has an adequate amount of water to keep them hydrated throughout the day.
3. Lemurs
Lemurs do eat watermelons because the flesh is easy for them to chew on and digest, however, they’re normally seen lifting their heads to swallow chewed melon before biting another piece.
For lemurs, nothing is better than juicy watermelons on a hot and humid day.
Lemurs don’t eat the rind of the watermelon because it’s bitter and hard for them to chew on.
Smaller lemurs often feed primarily on insects and fruits when it’s available.
However, these herbivores prefer feeding on different plant materials, such as fruits, bark, sap, shoots, flowers, leaves, and nectar.
4. Tortoises
Before you get surprised at this, yes, some tortoise species feed on watermelons.
These fruit-eating tortoises will also consume the watermelon rind. However, some experts advise against the idea of feeding fruits to some tortoise species like grazing tortoises, Mediterranean, and Desert tortoises.
These dome-shelled creatures should be fed watermelon in moderation as they’re unable to consume and digest high levels of sugar.
Did you know that watermelons are good for maintaining hydration in tortoises during the hot summer months?
5. Hippos
You’ll be surprised to know that these giant river horses can eat an entire watermelon in one bite!
Since hippos have strong jaws, they can easily crush the fruit in a single bite. However, the major portion of the hippo’s diet includes grass.
In fact, these creatures can spend up to 5 hours grazing, and every night, a hippo can eat around 60-80 pounds of grass.
Hippos can use their foot to squash watermelons but they’re commonly seen using the raw force of their mouth to break it apart.
Hippos can consume an entire watermelon including the rind as it’s very easy for them to chew on.
6. Elephants
Elephants do eat watermelon, however, they use their foot to easily break it apart to eat the sweet fleshy part.
Elephants do have a sweet tooth since they like to eat watermelons and sugarcane.
The common foods in an elephant’s diet include carrots, bananas, apples, grasses, bamboo, seed pods, twigs, leaves, flowers, bark, and roots.
The lesser-common foods that elephants would use to supplement their diet when it’s available include watermelons, pears, pineapples, celery, cabbage, lettuce, kale, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and beets.
Interested in learning more about elephants eating watermelon? Check out that article for more information.
7. Wolves
Wild wolves do eat watermelons and they’ll consume the entire fruit including the rind, however, wolves that are in the zoo prefer the flesh alone and would avoid the rind of the melon as this part is very bitter and leaves a bad taste in their mouth.
Wolves are known to shed their insulating undercoats to survive the hot summer months and one of the best ways they can beat the heat would be to consume a lot of the water content inside watermelons to cool themselves off.
Wolves simply like having this fruit because it’s watery, sweet, and above all, refreshing.
Besides, watermelons are also quite interesting as they can be easily played around with, serving them as a toy.
8. Monkeys
Monkeys also enjoy juicy watermelons on hot summer days to stay cool.
Like us, these mammals are omnivores, which means they feed on both plants and meat.
Most of the monkey species eat fruits, nuts, seeds, and flowers. However, some species also include bird eggs, insects, spiders, and small lizards in their diet.
In fact, monkeys eat several meals throughout the day. They can typically eat around 6 times per day due to their high metabolisms.
9. Cats
These feline creatures not only eat watermelons, but they actually enjoy them as a snack or treat.
Cats do eat watermelons since it not only provides them with nutrients and vitamins but also helps in keeping their bodies hydrated.
However, you may wonder why your cat will feed on watermelon when fruits aren’t part of a cat’s natural diet.
In fact, due to the presence of high amounts of sugar, watermelons may cause digestive problems in your cat.
What’s more, too much sugar intake may also gradually result in health conditions in felines.
Therefore, you shouldn’t feed large quantities of watermelon to your feline companion.
Watermelon can be fed to your cat in small pieces to supplement their diet, however, this fruit shouldn’t replace a whole meal for your pet cat.
10. Dogs
Just like cats, dogs too can safely feed on watermelons. Pet owners can feed their dogs this fruit in small bite-sized pieces.
Besides, the flesh of watermelons is totally nutritious and safe for your dog.
However, watermelon should be fed in moderation to dogs and it’s best if you remove the seeds and cut out or discard the rind before feeding them this fruit.
11. Polar Bears
Polar bears do eat watermelon including the seed and fleshy part because it’s sweet and the high water content helps with cooling down their body heat, however, they’ll either use their thick curved claw to crack open the melon or bite the rind and spit it out to get to the fleshy part.
These fascinating creatures never like to share their snacks as you’ll see in the video above.
They love watermelons and a slice or two of the fruit won’t be a bad idea, especially on the hot summer days.
So, if you visit the zoo and you’re allowed to feed polar bears, make sure to carry watermelons.
These juicy fruits are a treat to the animals held in captivity, and they’ll love them.
Sometimes, polar bears are also rewarded with melons for good behavior.
12. Otters
Although otters aren’t a big fan of watermelons because of how tough it is to open, whenever they’re served the fleshy part, they just can’t stop eating it!
Whenever otters get their hands on half of a melon, they’ll bite off a piece and raise their head to chew and swallow it.
Of course, they’re definitely not going to eat the melon rind, this part is too bitter for them and they’ll have a difficult time digesting it.
On the other hand, river otters consume a lot of different kinds of aquatic wildlife, including fish, crabs, crayfish, frogs, birds, bird eggs, and reptiles, such as turtles.
13. Rabbits
Although watermelons are not nutrition-rich foods for rabbits, they can still feed on these fruits as an occasional treat.
To make it easier and healthier for your rabbit, limit the feeding frequency of watermelons to 1-2 times per week.
Try to buy seedless, organic watermelons as these are healthy and would take care of your pet’s health.
14. Parrots
Although watermelons aren’t a staple diet of parrots, they can still feed on them.
Besides, there are many nutritional benefits of watermelon for parrots and other birds.
If you have a pet parrot at home, you can feed this delicious fruit and see your bird gobble it up within seconds!
A parrot’s diet should include a balance of fresh vegetables, fruits, seeds, and other formulated diets.
Also, around 15-30% of a parrot’s diet consists of fresh fruits and vegetables which is needed for them to maintain a healthy dietary balance.
15. Coyotes
Coyotes are known for catching small animals. However, just like human beings, they love to feed on juicy watermelons too, especially during the hot summer months.
Furthermore, these creatures can cause severe damage to watermelon crops.
There have been reports in which coyotes have gobbled up as much as 20 melons in a single night!
It’s hard for coyotes to resist watermelons since it’s not only a refreshing fruit but it also allows them to cool off their body heat.
16. Deer and Raccoons
Both raccoons and deer prefer eating ripe watermelons. However, the damages caused by these animals are much lesser compared to the damages done by coyotes.
That’s because raccoons make holes in the rind of the melons while scoping out or chewing some parts of the flesh inside.
On the other hand, deer will feed on watermelon rinds so if there is severe damage caused to your melons, then it’s possible that a deer was the culprit.
They generally leave an upside-down heart-shaped footprint in and around watermelon crops, which lets you know that it’s the work of a deer.
But when it comes to raccoons, they’ll leave handprints that resemble tiny human fingers.
Raccoons and deer don’t consume the entire melon, especially not in one go.
You can learn more about raccoons eating watermelon here.
17. Pigeons
Apart from parrots, pigeons also feed on watermelons. Farmers growing these crops know that birds of all kinds love to feed on tasty fruits, especially the ones that are sweet.
After picking and nibbling on watermelons, pigeons will hydrate themselves by sucking the water out of these melons without raising their heads to swallow them.
This is when they’d prefer to poke their pointed beaks into a melon and enjoy the juicy treat!
There are some bird species that don’t drink water on a regular basis and that’s because they receive sufficient water content from fresh fruits, especially watermelons.
Some other bird species that love watermelons are crows and pheasants.