by Jennifer McConnell-Knox
illustration by Mia McGreevey

What's your favorite food? Ice cream ... pizza ... hamburgers? Wildlife all have their own favorite kinds of food, too. Some like plants, some like fruit and some like meat. Animals that eat other animals are called predators. And animals that get eaten by predators are called prey animals.

Prey animals usually have features that help them escape from predators, like being able to run or fly fast or having camouflage colors to hide. Predators, on the other hand, have ways to help them catch their prey. Some predators run fast, some hunt together in groups and some, like people, invent weapons and traps to hunt with.

Elk have several predators they must watch out for, including mountain lions, wolves, bears and people.

Kids! Unscramble the secret word!

Match each animal's number on the outside of the circle with the letter next to its food on the inside of the circle.