Carnivores | Parasites |
Carnivores kill their prey to consume them. | Parasites may kill their hosts slowly by weakening them. In general however, parasites need not kill their hosts. |
Carnivores generally do not cause diseases in their prey. | Parasites may cause diseases in their hosts. |
Carnivores are always external to their prey. | Parasites may be inside their hosts (endoparasites) or outside their host (ectoparasites). |
Carnivores can be larger or smaller than their prey. | Parasites are generally much smaller than their hosts. |
Carnivores reproduce very slowly compared to their prey. | Parasites reproduce very rapidly compared to their prey. |
Examples of carnivores include, lions, tigers, leopards, eagles etc. | Examples of endoparasites are: intestinal worms such as Ascaris, tapeworm, ringworm, etc. Examples of ectoparasites are mosquitoes, bed bugs, leeches, etc. |