Avocados are a nutritious and delicious fruit enjoyed by humans around the world. But did you know that avocados are also relished by many animal species? If you want a quick answer: birds, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, coyotes, bears, and insects all eat avocados when they can get them.
In this comprehensive article, we will explore the many animals that consume avocados in the wild. We’ll discuss which animals seek out avocados as a primary food source versus those that opportunistically eat them when available.
You’ll also learn some interesting facts about how different species process and consume this unique fruit.
Birds
Many species of birds are known to feast on avocados when the fruit becomes ripe and falls to the ground. The large seed inside avocados contains nutrients that appeal to a variety of bird species.
Toucans
Toucans are vibrantly colored tropical birds found in Central and South America that regularly consume avocados. Their large, colorful beaks allow them to easily reach avocado fruit hanging high in rainforest trees.
According to one birding resource, toucans can swallow avocado fruits whole and later regurgitate the large pit.
Parrots
Many parrot species are avid fans of ripe avocados. These intelligent birds use their strong hooked beaks to get past the avocado’s tough outer skin and access the soft fruit inside. The high fat content of avocados appeals to parrots and aids their metabolic needs.
Researchers have even had success training parrots with avocado rewards.
A 2020 study on parrot feeding habits in Costa Rica found that avocados accounted for over 15% of their annual fruit diet. Macaws and Amazon parrots were the most frequent visitors to avocado trees.
Turkeys
Domesticated turkeys descend from wild ancestors in Mexico which evolved eating fallen avocados. Today’s turkeys still retain this ancestral love of avocados. Turkeys use their strong beaks to crack open fallen avocado fruit and gobble up the contents.
The monounsaturated fats in avocados are healthy additions to a turkey’s diet.
Avocado farmers in areas with wild turkeys commonly report flocks raiding their orchards once fruits become ripe. Electric fencing is often used to deter these avocado-loving birds.
Tree Squirrels
Western Gray Squirrels
The western gray squirrel (Sciurus griseus) is a tree-dwelling rodent found along the western coast of North America from Washington to central California. These bushy-tailed mammals grow up to 21 inches long and weigh around 1.5 pounds. They have predominantly gray fur with white undersides.
Western gray squirrels are extremely agile and can leap up to 8 feet between objects. They build nests called dreys high up in the branches of trees.
Western grays often raid fruit orchards and nut groves, feasting on all kinds of produce like avocados, oranges, walnuts, and almonds. In fact, a 2021 survey found that western gray squirrels caused around $297,000 in damage to California avocado groves alone last year.
These resourceful rodents use their sharp teeth and strong jaws to gnaw through the thick skin and large pit of avocados with ease.
Red Squirrels
The American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) inhabits coniferous forests across much of northern North America. Growing up to 12 inches long, these small grayish squirrels have a distinctive reddish stripe along their backs and sides.
Though red squirrels mostly eat pine nuts andother seeds, they also munch on fruits and veggies when available.
Research shows that red squirrels will eagerly devour avocados presented to them in wildlife feeding studies. Their sharp claws allow them to puncture avocado skins with ease. And compared to larger squirrel species, red squirrels can tunnel directly into avocados without having to gnaw them open first thanks to their small size.
Fox Squirrels
The fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) is North America’s largest tree squirrel, reaching up to 29 inches long and weighing over 2.2 lbs. Despite its name, the fox squirrel exhibits variable coloration including all-black, all-gray, and reddish-brown mixed with gray.
These chunky squirrels thrive in woodlands and urban parks across the eastern and central United States. Fox squirrels are omnivorous, feeding on fruits like avocados as well as tree sap, buds, nuts, seeds, fungi, insects, and even small vertebrates.
Fox squirrels use their specialized rodent incisors to gnaw open avocados with relative ease. In fact, according to a 1980 study, fox squirrels were observed damaging up to 47% of early-ripening avocados in some Florida orchards.
These prolific breeders can quickly become agricultural pests when availing themselves to fruit crops. Their sheer size, strength, and cleverness make fox squirrels particularly destructive avocado thieves.
Other Rodents
Raccoons
The clever and dexterous raccoon is an opportunistic omnivore that will eat just about anything it can get its paws on, including avocados. Urban raccoons in particular have learned that backyard fruit trees and gardens can be an excellent food source.
Raccoons use their nimble front paws to reach, grasp, and manipulate food. They have been observed swiftly harvesting avocados from trees at night when we humans sleep. In fact, homeowners sometimes wake to find messy piles of avocado skins and pits under their trees after a nighttime raccoon feeding frenzy!
Opossums
The Virginia opossum is North America’s only marsupial mammal. They have adapted well to living in close proximity to humans and raiding our garbage, gardens, and fruit trees for food. Opossums are omnivores and eat a very wide variety of plant and animal matter, including avocados.
An opossum’s 50 sharp teeth make quick work of ripping open avocado skin to get to the soft fruit inside. These nocturnal creatures forage under the cover of darkness, often working in small family groups. Backyards with avocado trees can attract opossums, much to some homeowners’ dismay.
Roof Rats
The agile black roof rat is an invasive rodent species notorious for causing damage to homes, gardens, and orchards. Originally from Asia, these rats have spread to many parts of the world via maritime ship traffic.
Roof rats are omnivores that will eat avocados as well as many other fruits and vegetables.
Able to climb vines, trees, fences, and buildings with ease, roof rats have no problem scaling avocado trees to get to the hanging fruit. And they seem to relish the creamy green flesh inside. Unfortunately, this can translate to major losses for commercial avocado growers.
According to one estimate, roof rats destroy 1-2% of the total avocado crop in California every year!
Bears
Black Bears
Black bears are omnivorous and will eat avocados when they come across them. These intelligent beasts have an excellent sense of smell and can detect ripe fruit from miles away. Research shows that during avocado season, up to 23% of a black bear’s diet can consist of the creamy green fruit.
In parts of California and Mexico where avocado orchards thrive, black bears frequently raid the bountiful trees at night. One study by UC Davis tracked a few tagged black bears who traveled over 9 miles when avocados ripened in order to feast.
Though not their favorite snack, the high caloric content of avocados is an opportunistic food source bears won’t pass up.
Grizzly Bears
Unlike black bears, grizzly bears do not often consume avocados. These giants inhabit more northern climates in the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains where avocado trees are scarce. However, with climate change warming areas farther north, avocados have gradually become introduced.
For example, a 2021 survey in Idaho discovered small orchards popping up that have experienced rare damage from local grizzlies. As grizzly territory and avocado farms increasingly overlap, more bears have developed a taste for the exotic fruit, though it still comprises less than 3% of the average grizzly’s varied plant-based meals.
In general, most bears consume avocados opportunistically when available rather than tracking them as a preferred food source. However, as humans expand agriculture and bear habitats shrink, we may start seeing more black, brown, and even grizzly bears seeking out avocado trees for their nutritious, energy-rich fruits!
Canines
Coyotes
Coyotes are opportunistic omnivores that will eat a variety of foods depending on availability, including fruits like avocados. When coyotes come across fallen or rotting avocados, they will often eat the flesh and seeds.
The fat and calories in avocados make them a desirable food source to fuel coyotes’ energetic lifestyles.
Research shows that avocados made up over 20% of analyzed coyote scat contents in some areas of California, indicating they frequently consume this fruit. In particular, coyotes target avocado orchards and groves, eating fruit that has fallen from trees and split open on the ground. This gives them easy access to the nutritious inner flesh and large seed.
Additionally, coyotes may directly forage in trees, reaching up to grab avocados still attached to branches.
Foxes
Foxes are omnivorous mammals that will eat avocados when the opportunity arises. Species like red foxes, gray foxes, and kit foxes all live in areas where avocados are cultivated, putting them in prime position to access this fruit.
Foxes tend to target damaged, overripe, or discarded avocados. Their excellent sense of smell allows them to detect rotting fruit from a distance. Under cover of night, foxes will enter orchards and groves, consuming fallen avocados and sometimes climbing trees to grab loose ones still hanging on branches.
Foxes are resourceful foragers and use their agility to take advantage of any available food.
Interestingly, analysis of some fox scat samples in California avocado growing regions found traces of avocado leaves and skins, but no flesh or seeds. This indicates foxes may eat parts of the avocado plant itself, but not necessarily the inner nutritious sections.
More research is needed to fully understand the role of avocados in fox diets.
Insects
Various insects are attracted to the rich, fatty flesh of avocados. When given the chance, these bugs will feast on the fruit and can become troublesome pests for avocado growers. Understanding which insects target avocados can help farmers protect their valuable crops.
Fruit Flies
Fruit flies are tiny insects, usually measuring between 2 to 4 mm long, that are strongly drawn to the smell of fermenting fruit. Female fruit flies will lay their eggs directly on or just under the skin of ripening avocados.
After hatching, the larvae burrow into the nutritious flesh of the fruit to feed.
An infestation of fruit flies can ruin a crop of avocados. As the larvae tunnel through the flesh, they introduce bacteria and fungi that cause the fruit to rot. Their feeding also accelerates decomposition.
Preventative measures like sanitation, traps, and insect netting can help control fruit fly populations.
Beetles
Many beetles are agricultural pests to avocado crops, including weevils, mites, and fruit borers. These bugs attack the fruit itself and feed on the leaves and branches of avocado trees.
Avocado weevils drill perfectly round holes into unharvested avocados and eat the flesh inside. Mites cause brown spots and lesions on avocado skin. Fruit borers create winding tunnels through avocados as their larvae develop.
Beetles can be controlled through methods like pesticide sprays, predatory insects, and quarantining infested trees. But when left unchecked, beetles can significantly diminish yields.
Moths
Various moth species target avocado trees and fruits, including avocado seed moths, omnivorous loopers, and fruit-piercing moths. The larvae of these moths chew through leaves and burrow into ripening fruit.
Avocado seed moths lay their eggs inside the fruit. When the eggs hatch, the larvae eat the flesh around the pit and can damage the seed itself. Omnivorous loopers and fruit-piercing moths feed in the fruit flesh but do not damage the pit.
Like with beetles, moth infestations can be controlled through methods like Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) sprays and pheromone traps. But their feeding and lifecycles must be monitored closely by growers to prevent exponential population growth.
Conclusion
As we’ve explored, avocados are relished by a diverse array of animal species, from birds to bears and everything in between. While humans tend to eat avocados in slices on toast or in guacamole, many animals consume them whole right off the tree.
Avocados are full of nutrients like healthy fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals. This makes them an excellent energy source for many creatures. Now you know which species to watch out for next time your avocado tree is full of ripe, ready-to-eat fruits!