What are heterotrophs?

Heterotrophs are living things that need to eat other stuff to get their energy.

Imagine you're at a party and you don’t have your own snack, you have to grab some from the table. That’s kind of like what heterotrophs do. They can't make their own food, so they eat plants or other animals (or even dead things!) to get the energy they need.

Think about a dog. Dogs don’t make their own food, they eat the treats you give them or the meat from your plate. That makes dogs heterotrophs too!

Some heterotrophs are like tiny chefs in the forest. For example, a deer eats leaves and grass, it’s getting its energy from plants. A lion eats a zebra, it's using the zebra’s energy as its own.

So whether you're a dog, a lion, or even a human, if you have to eat something else to live, you're a heterotroph!