27 Animals That Eat Oranges, From Rainforest Monkeys to Backyard Raccoons
October 25, 2026
Bite into an orange on the back porch and it quickly becomes clear that humans aren’t the only ones interested. Animals that eat oranges range from tree-dwelling primates in tropical rainforests to gray squirrels raiding a compost pile in someone’s Ohio backyard. Across mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects, citrus shows up in a surprisingly long list of animal diets, thanks to its sugar content, moisture, and soft, easy-to-reach pulp.
Some species peel the fruit and eat only the pulp. Others gnaw straight through the rind, seeds and all. A few, including the caterpillar covered later in this list, eat the plant itself rather than the fruit. Working through 27 species that eat oranges, from wild rainforest primates and backyard birds to farm animals, offers a window into how different diet strategies play out across the animal kingdom.
| Animal Group | Typical Orange Eaters | How They Usually Eat It |
|---|---|---|
| Primates | Squirrel monkeys, tamarins, orangutans, macaques, baboons, lemurs | Peel with fingers or teeth, eat pulp and juice |
| Small Mammals | Squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, opossums, black rats, bats | Gnaw through rind, often leave hollowed-out shells |
| Birds | Parrots, orioles, mockingbirds, woodpeckers, catbirds, peafowl | Peck through skin to reach juicy segments |
| Reptiles and Insects | Turtles, lizards, citrus-feeding caterpillars | Nibble soft flesh or feed on leaves and rind |
| Farm and Large Mammals | Deer, horses, pigs, elephants, bears | Eat whole fruit in a few bites, rind included |
1. Squirrel monkeys
Squirrel monkeys spend much of their day traveling through the middle and lower canopy in search of food, and ripe fruit is the first thing they look for each morning. Researchers at Animal Diversity Web note that squirrel monkeys eat mainly fruit and some insects, spending the first hour or so of the day searching and collecting fruit. Oranges and other soft, sugary fruits fit easily into that pattern whenever the monkeys encounter citrus trees near forest edges or farms.
The common squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) is one of five recognized squirrel monkey species, and several share a rust-orange back that helped give the group its common name. A close relative described on Wikipedia has an orange back and a distinctive white and black facial mask, with an omnivorous diet of fruits, other plant materials, invertebrates and some small vertebrates.
Fruit availability shifts with the seasons, and that timing tends to work in these monkeys’ favor. According to the New England Primate Conservancy, insects are scarce in the middle of the dry season, but that period overlaps with the time of year fruit is most abundant. That overlap means squirrel monkeys rarely go hungry, switching between insect hunting and fruit foraging as conditions change.
2. Tamarins
Tamarins are small, fast-moving primates that share the South American rainforest canopy with squirrel monkeys, and their diet tells a similar story built around fruit and insects. A stomach-content study on the golden-handed tamarin (Saguinus midas), published on PubMed, found that the diet comprises significant proportions of both fruit and insects all year round, although fruit use shows important seasonal variations. Citrus growing near forest edges or plantations fits neatly into that fruit-heavy portion of the diet.
Tamarins don’t simply eat more fruit whenever it’s most plentiful. The same research found that tamarins reduce their use of fruit resources during the peak fruiting season and instead exploit increased opportunities for insectivory, likely because competition for the best fruit increases when it’s abundant.
Other tamarin species show the same flexible appetite. The pied tamarin, a Brazilian species described on Wikipedia, is omnivorous, and its diet consists of gums, saps, fruit, flowers, nectar, insects, spiders, small vertebrates and bird eggs. When tamarins raid orchard trees near their habitat, oranges become an easy addition to an already varied menu.
3. Orangutans
Orangutans are among the most frugivorous great apes, and wild populations in Borneo and Sumatra rely on forest fruit for the bulk of their calories. Figs and durian make up much of that natural diet, but orangutans are opportunistic enough to eat almost any ripe, sugary fruit they find, including citrus growing near villages or research stations.
In captivity, keepers regularly offer orange segments as part of an enrichment-focused diet, since the fruit’s strong scent and juicy texture encourage the kind of peeling and foraging behavior orangutans display in the wild. The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) uses its dexterous hands and lips to strip away rind before eating the pulp, much like a person peeling the same fruit.
Wild orangutans have long been targeted by illegal wildlife trafficking precisely because they seem so approachable, even though their size, strength, and complex social needs make captivity a poor substitute for rainforest life.
4. Macaques
Macaques are some of the most adaptable primates on the planet, and that flexibility shows up clearly in their diet. Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) living near temples and tourist areas in Southeast Asia have learned to snatch fruit, including oranges, directly from vendors and offering tables.
In the wild, macaques eat a broad mix of fruit, leaves, seeds, and small animals, and this omnivorous streak occasionally extends to opportunistic hunting. Species profiled among animals that eat other animals often include macaques, which have been observed catching crabs, insects, and even small vertebrates when fruit runs short.
Citrus groves near macaque habitat in parts of Asia sometimes see raiding troops strip entire branches of fruit in a single visit. Farmers in these regions often describe macaques as bold and persistent, willing to enter fields in daylight when food is plentiful nearby.
5. Baboons
Baboons are large, ground-dwelling monkeys found across savanna and woodland habitats in Africa, and their diet is about as varied as any primate’s. Olive baboons (Papio anubis) eat grasses, roots, fruit, insects, and small animals, adjusting easily to whatever food source is close at hand.
Troops living near farmland have developed a reputation for raiding crops, and citrus orchards are not exempt. Baboons use their hands to peel oranges much like a person would, then eat the pulp quickly before moving to the next piece of fruit.
That same boldness sometimes puts baboons in direct conflict with other wildlife. Baboons are occasionally listed among animals that eat snakes, since large males will kill and eat snakes that threaten the troop, showing the same opportunistic streak that leads them into orange groves in the first place.
6. Squirrels
Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) are a familiar sight in yards and parks across the United States, and they will happily gnaw through the rind of a dropped orange to reach the juicy segments inside. Squirrels are natural scavengers, and a piece of fruit left on a patio or under a tree rarely lasts long once one finds it.
Backyard gardeners sometimes notice half-eaten oranges with tooth marks in the peel, a telltale sign a squirrel has been visiting. Unlike birds, squirrels tend to carry fruit away to eat in a safer spot, often a tree branch or the base of a trunk.
Squirrels themselves sit fairly low on the food chain, and larger predators view them as an easy meal. A closer look at animals that eat squirrels shows hawks, foxes, and snakes among the regular predators keeping squirrel populations in check.
7. Chipmunks
Chipmunks share a lot of dietary overlap with their larger squirrel cousins, and citrus fruit is no exception. The eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) stuffs its cheek pouches with seeds, nuts, and fruit pieces, carrying food back to an underground burrow rather than eating everything on the spot.
A dropped orange segment in a garden or compost pile gives chipmunks an easy source of natural sugar, especially in late summer and fall when they’re actively storing food for winter. They tend to nibble smaller bites than squirrels, leaving distinctive small tooth marks in the fruit.
Because chipmunks forage close to the ground, they’re more likely to find fallen fruit than fruit still hanging on a tree. Gardeners who compost citrus scraps outdoors often attract chipmunks along with squirrels and other small mammals looking for an easy snack.
8. Raccoons
Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are opportunistic omnivores that will eat almost anything edible they come across, and citrus fits comfortably into that pattern. A raccoon raiding a backyard compost bin or fruit tree at night will often peel back the rind with its dexterous front paws before eating the pulp.
Because raccoons are nocturnal, homeowners rarely see them in the act. Signs of a raccoon visit usually include scattered orange peels, small claw marks, and fruit that has vanished from a tree overnight.
Pro Tip: If raccoons keep raiding a citrus tree, pick fruit as soon as it ripens and store fallen fruit in a sealed compost bin rather than leaving it on the ground overnight.
Raccoons have a wide-ranging diet beyond fruit, and their taste for small animals is well documented. They show up regularly among animals that eat bunnies, since young or injured rabbits make an easy meal when raccoons are hunting rather than foraging for fruit.
9. Opossums
The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is North America’s only native marsupial, and it eats almost anything it finds while foraging at night, including fallen citrus fruit. Opossums use their sharp teeth to break through orange rind, then eat the pulp along with insects, carrion, and garden scraps they find along the way.
Opossums move slowly and rely on a strong sense of smell to locate food rather than speed or stealth. That slow pace also means opossums spend an unusually large share of their day resting.
Species that spend most of their time asleep are covered in more detail among animals that sleep a lot, and opossums are a notable example, often resting for well over half the day between nighttime foraging trips.
10. Black rats
Black rats (Rattus rattus) are skilled climbers, and that agility lets them reach fruit that ground-dwelling animals can’t. A black rat raiding an orange tree will often eat the fruit while it’s still hanging on the branch, gnawing a hole through the rind and hollowing out the inside while leaving the peel largely intact.
Citrus growers sometimes mistake rat damage for bird damage at first glance, since both leave hollowed-out fruit still attached to the tree. Closer inspection usually reveals gnaw marks rather than the peck marks birds leave behind.
Because rats reproduce quickly and can damage significant amounts of fruit, many property owners look for natural predators to help control populations. A guide to animals that eat rats lists owls, hawks, snakes, and cats among the species that keep rat numbers in check around orchards and gardens.
11. Bats
Fruit bats are among the most dedicated citrus eaters, using an acute sense of smell to locate ripe oranges even in complete darkness. Species like the Jamaican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) feed almost entirely on fruit, and citrus trees near roosting sites offer a reliable food source through much of the year.
Bats typically bite into fruit while hanging from a branch, extracting juice and soft pulp rather than eating the whole orange at once. This feeding style leaves distinctive puncture marks and partially eaten fruit still hanging in place the next morning.
Not every bat species eats fruit, however. Insect-eating bats make up the majority of species worldwide, playing a very different ecological role by controlling insect populations rather than pollinating flowers or dispersing fruit seeds.
12. Parrots
Parrots are famous fruit lovers, and citrus is a common part of both wild and captive diets. The yellow-crowned amazon (Amazona ochrocephala) and many related species use their strong, curved beaks to crack open citrus rind, then use their tongues to scoop out pulp and juice.
Pet owners often offer orange segments as a treat, though most avian veterinarians recommend removing seeds first and offering citrus in moderation because of its natural sugar and acid content. Wild parrots face no such restrictions, and flocks will strip a fruiting citrus tree in a single visit if given the chance.
Pro Tip: Pet parrot owners should remove citrus seeds before feeding orange segments, since some seeds contain compounds that are mildly toxic to birds in large amounts.
Parrots share the sky with many other fruit-eating birds discussed later in this list, and their bright plumage makes them among the most recognizable of all animals that eat oranges in tropical and subtropical regions.
13. Northern mockingbirds
The northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is a familiar backyard bird across most of the United States, known as much for its song as for its varied diet. Insects make up the bulk of its diet in spring and summer, but mockingbirds shift toward fruit, including citrus, once cooler weather arrives.
Halved oranges left out at a backyard feeding station attract mockingbirds readily, especially in late fall and winter when insect prey becomes scarce. The birds peck directly into the fruit’s flesh, often returning to the same spot repeatedly once they find a reliable food source.
Mockingbirds are also territorial around good food sources, and a single bird will frequently defend a fruit tree or feeder from other birds trying to share the same meal.
14. Orioles
Few backyard birds are as closely associated with oranges as the Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula). Birders across the eastern and central United States have long used orange halves nailed to a fence post or hung from a feeder as one of the most reliable ways to attract these bright orange-and-black songbirds each spring.
Orioles use their sharp, pointed beaks to pierce the fruit’s skin and drink the juice, sometimes returning to the same orange half several times over a few days. Nectar feeders filled with sugar water offer a similar draw, but many birders find fresh orange halves easier to maintain.
- Cut an orange in half and skewer it onto a branch or dedicated oriole feeder.
- Place the feeder in a partly shaded spot near flowering trees orioles favor.
- Set the feeder out in early spring, just before orioles typically arrive from their wintering grounds.
- Replace the fruit every two to three days to prevent mold and keep it appealing.
Species that arrive on a similar migratory schedule, covered among animals that start with O, share this same pattern, timing their return north with the availability of fresh fruit and insects.
15. Red-bellied woodpeckers
The red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) is a common visitor to backyard feeders across the eastern United States, and its diet extends well beyond the insects most people associate with woodpeckers. Fruit, nuts, and seeds make up a meaningful share of its diet, especially outside the breeding season.
Orange halves placed on a platform feeder or nailed to a tree trunk draw red-bellied woodpeckers just as readily as suet does. The birds use their strong, chisel-like beaks to break through the rind before extracting pulp with a barbed tongue built for probing into tight spaces.
Because red-bellied woodpeckers are cavity nesters, offering a reliable fruit source near nesting trees can help attract a breeding pair to a yard for multiple seasons in a row.
16. Catbirds
The gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) gets its name from a distinctive, cat-like call, but its feeding habits deserve just as much attention. Catbirds eat a mix of insects and fruit, and that fruit portion of the diet grows substantially during migration season when birds need extra energy for long flights.
Orange segments left on a platform feeder attract catbirds in yards with enough shrubby cover nearby, since the birds prefer feeding close to protective vegetation rather than out in the open. They tend to eat quickly and retreat to cover between bites.
Catbirds share many of the same backyard fruit sources as mockingbirds and orioles, and yards that attract one of these species often see visits from all three during peak migration weeks in spring and fall.
17. Peafowl
Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus), commonly known simply as peacocks and peahens, are large, ground-foraging birds that eat a remarkably broad diet, including fruit, grain, insects, and even small reptiles. Citrus fruit that falls from trees on farms or estates where peafowl roam freely gets pecked apart readily.
Peafowl use their strong beaks to tear through orange rind, and a flock foraging through an orchard can clear fallen fruit quickly. That dietary flexibility is part of why peafowl adapt so well across a wide range of climates, from tropical South Asia to considerably drier regions where they’ve since been introduced.
Because peafowl forage on the ground rather than in trees, they mostly eat fruit that has already dropped, leaving hanging citrus mostly to birds and climbing mammals.
18. Turtles
Many omnivorous turtle species eat fruit opportunistically, and citrus is no exception when it’s available near water. Red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans), one of the most common freshwater turtles in the United States, will eat small pieces of orange offered by keepers, though wild individuals rarely encounter citrus outside of areas where trees grow near ponds or slow-moving water.
Box turtles, which spend more time on land, are somewhat more likely to come across fallen citrus fruit naturally. They use their beak-like mouths to tear off small bites rather than swallowing large chunks whole.
Species discussed among animals that start with T share this same opportunistic feeding style, adjusting their diet based on whatever food source is easiest to reach in a given season.
19. Lizards
Most lizards are primarily insect eaters, but several species supplement that diet with fruit when the opportunity arises. Green anoles (Anolis carolinensis), common across the southeastern United States, occasionally eat small amounts of soft, overripe fruit, including citrus that has fallen and begun to break down.
Larger lizard species tend to eat fruit more readily than small insectivorous ones, since bigger body size makes it easier to digest the sugar and fiber found in fruit pulp. Captive lizard keepers sometimes offer small citrus pieces as an occasional treat, though most species need a diet built primarily around insects or leafy greens rather than fruit.
In the wild, a lizard eating orange pulp is usually taking advantage of fruit that’s already split open, either from falling naturally or from being pecked apart by birds first.
20. Caterpillars
Not every animal on this list eats the fruit itself, and caterpillars are the clearest example among all the animals that eat oranges. The giant swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio cresphontes), sometimes nicknamed the orange dog caterpillar, feeds on the leaves of citrus trees rather than the fruit hanging from them, and it’s considered a notable pest in commercial citrus groves across the southern United States.
Gardeners and orchard owners in citrus-growing regions often spot these caterpillars before they see the adult butterfly, since the larvae’s odd, bird-dropping-like appearance makes them easy to mistake for something else entirely. Despite the leaf damage they cause, giant swallowtails eventually become one of the largest butterflies in North America.
Caterpillar identification looks different across the country, and that’s especially true in arid regions. Desert caterpillar identification in the Southwest often starts with habitat and host plant rather than color alone, since many native caterpillar species in New Mexico and neighboring states have adapted to feed on desert plants rather than citrus. New Mexico’s state butterfly, the Sandia Hairstreak, relies on a native desert plant rather than any citrus tree, since commercial citrus isn’t part of the region’s high-desert landscape.
Because New Mexico sits outside the natural range of citrus production, native caterpillars in the southwestern United States rarely encounter orange trees at all. Most New Mexico butterfly caterpillars instead feed on native shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses suited to the state’s dry, high-elevation terrain, which makes citrus-feeding species like the giant swallowtail far more common in warmer, wetter citrus states such as Florida and Texas.
Key Insight: A caterpillar munching on citrus leaves and an adult butterfly sipping orange nectar can be the very same species at two completely different life stages.
Birds are among the biggest natural predators of caterpillars, including citrus-feeding species. A closer look at animals that eat butterflies shows how birds, wasps, and other predators help keep caterpillar populations in balance around orchards and gardens alike.
21. Deer
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are highly adaptable browsers, and they’ll eat fruit whenever it’s available alongside their usual diet of leaves, twigs, and grasses. Fallen oranges near orchards or backyard trees make an easy, calorie-dense snack, especially in fall when deer are building fat reserves for winter.
Deer typically eat the entire fruit, rind included, chewing it along with whatever plant material happens to be nearby. Orchard owners in citrus-growing regions sometimes install fencing specifically to keep deer from stripping low-hanging fruit before harvest.
Because deer eat such a wide variety of plant material, fruit like oranges makes up only a small part of their overall diet compared to the leaves and browse that sustain them through most of the year, a pattern also covered among animals that eat leaves.
22. Horses
Horses (Equus caballus) enjoy the sweetness of citrus, and many owners offer orange slices as an occasional treat alongside more traditional options like apples and carrots. The fruit’s natural sugar makes it appealing, though it should only ever be a small part of a diet built primarily around forage.
Most of a horse’s daily nutrition comes from grass and hay rather than fruit, and that forage-based foundation is essential for healthy digestion. A closer look at animals that eat hay explains why roughage plays such an outsized role in the diets of horses and other grazing animals.
Important Note: Orange slices should be given to horses in moderation and with seeds removed, since too much sugar or acid at once can upset digestion.
Horses typically chew oranges thoroughly before swallowing, thanks to large, flat molars built for grinding fibrous plant material. Owners introducing citrus for the first time often start with just a slice or two to see how the horse responds.
Beyond diet, horses share a place among domesticated species covered in lists like animals that start with H, a reminder of how differently the same letter can be represented across the animal kingdom.
23. Pigs
Pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) are famously unfussy eaters, and citrus fruit disappears quickly whenever it ends up in a pig pen. Farmers with surplus or damaged oranges often feed them to pigs rather than letting the fruit go to waste, since pigs will eat the rind along with the pulp.
Wild boars, close relatives of domestic pigs, show the same opportunistic feeding behavior in areas where citrus orchards border forest or scrubland. A boar rooting through fallen fruit at night can clear a surprising amount of ground in a single visit.
Pigs are only one example of a farm animal willing to eat almost anything placed in front of them. Species covered among animals that start with P share this same reputation for dietary flexibility.
24. Elephants
Elephants eat an enormous volume of plant material each day, and fruit, including citrus, makes up part of that intake whenever it’s available. The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) uses its trunk to pick up fallen fruit and place it directly into its mouth, rind and all.
In regions where elephant habitat borders farmland, citrus orchards occasionally become a target for foraging herds, much to the frustration of local farmers. A single elephant can eat hundreds of pounds of food daily, and fruit trees offer a concentrated, easy-to-reach calorie source compared to grazing on grass alone.
Captive elephants at sanctuaries and zoos are often given fruit, including oranges, as part of enrichment feeding designed to encourage natural foraging behavior and keep their diet varied.
25. Lemurs
Lemurs are native only to Madagascar, and most species eat a mix of fruit, leaves, flowers, and insects depending on what’s seasonally available. The common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus) readily eats fruit, including citrus grown on the island or offered at wildlife sanctuaries and zoos.
Fruit-heavy diets make lemurs important seed dispersers in their native forest habitat, since seeds pass through their digestive systems largely intact and get deposited far from the original tree. That ecological role helps explain why so many lemur species are considered valuable to forest regeneration.
Because Madagascar’s native forests continue to shrink, fruit-eating lemurs increasingly rely on fragmented habitat patches, making conservation efforts tied to fruit-producing trees especially important for the species’ long-term survival.
26. Ring-tailed lemurs
The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) is probably the most recognizable lemur species, known for its long, black-and-white striped tail and highly social troop structure. Fruit makes up a significant part of its diet, and citrus offered at wildlife parks and sanctuaries is eaten eagerly, peel included in many cases.
In the wild, ring-tailed lemurs forage across a mix of forest and rocky terrain in southern Madagascar, adjusting their diet with the seasons much like other lemur species. Fruit becomes especially important during the wetter months when it’s most abundant.
Ring-tailed lemurs remain popular in zoos partly because of their expressive behavior and strong troop bonds, but their specialized social and dietary needs place them firmly among animals that can’t be domesticated, despite their small size and approachable appearance.
27. Bears
American black bears (Ursus americanus) are opportunistic omnivores with an excellent sense of smell, and a ripe orange tree near bear habitat rarely goes unnoticed for long. Bears eat the fruit whole, rind included, often pulling down branches or climbing partway up a tree to reach fruit still hanging out of easy reach.
Fruit becomes especially important to bears in late summer and fall, when they need to build fat reserves before winter denning. Orchards and backyard fruit trees in bear country sometimes become a source of human-wildlife conflict during this hyperphagia period, when bears eat far more than usual to prepare for months without food.
Important Note: Wildlife agencies generally advise against intentionally feeding bears, since fruit left out regularly can encourage bears to associate homes and yards with easy food, increasing the risk of dangerous encounters.
Wild bears that lose their natural wariness around humans because of easy food sources, including fallen fruit left unmanaged near homes, are far more likely to be relocated or euthanized by wildlife officials, making responsible fruit tree management an important part of living in bear country.
From rainforest canopies to suburban backyards, the list of animals that eat oranges spans nearly every branch of the animal kingdom. Primates peel the fruit by hand, birds pierce the skin to reach the juice, and mammals from squirrels to bears simply bite through the rind and eat everything at once.
Anyone hoping to attract fruit-eating wildlife, whether it’s a Baltimore oriole at a spring feeder or squirrels visiting a backyard tree, can use orange halves as a simple, low-cost way to bring more activity into a yard. Just as importantly, understanding which animals are drawn to citrus helps orchard owners, gardeners, and wildlife watchers manage fruit trees responsibly, keeping both the fruit and the animals that love it in balance.