Celery is a common vegetable that humans grow and eat around the world. But did you know that celery grows naturally in marshes and wetlands, providing food for many types of wild animals? In this article, we’ll explore what types of wildlife like to munch on wild celery.
Deer
Deer are one of the most common wild animals that eat celery. As ruminant herbivores, deer feed on all kinds of leafy greens, including wild celery. Deer particularly enjoy the tender young shoots and leaves of celery plants. Wild celery provides deer with moisture and essential nutrients like calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Celery grows naturally in many of the wetland habitats that deer inhabit.
Species of deer known to eat celery include:
- White-tailed deer
- Mule deer
- Black-tailed deer
- Elk
- Moose
- Caribou
In areas where wild celery is abundant, deer may rely on it as a major part of their diet. Celery can make up over 50% of a deer’s summer food source in marshy areas. Deer will also eat celery provided as bait by hunters.
Rabbits
Rabbits are small herbivorous mammals that thrive on a diet of various greens, including celery. Wild rabbits are found living in wetlands, forests, meadows, and backyards where celery grows. Rabbits like to eat all parts of the celery plant, including the leaves, stalks, roots, and seeds.
Types of wild rabbits known to eat celery include:
- Cottontail rabbits
- Hares
- Pikas
- Jackrabbits
Rabbits get thiamine, niacin, vitamin K, calcium, and other essential vitamins and minerals from celery. The moisture in celery provides rabbits with much needed water. When feeding, rabbits will rapidly nibble on celery leaves and come back later to eat the crisp stalks.
Rodents
Various small rodents include celery in their omnivorous diets. Species of rodents that eat celery include:
- Voles
- Lemmings
- Porcupines
- Gophers
- Groundhogs
- Muskrats
- Beavers
- Mice
- Rats
- Chipmunks
- Squirrels
These rodents feed on celery leaves, stalks, roots, and seeds. Celery provides them with needed fiber, vitamins, minerals, and water. Rodents help disperse celery seeds and propagate the plant. Some rodents store celery for later consumption.
Birds
Several species of marsh birds and waterfowl include celery in their diets. Birds that eat celery include:
- Ducks
- Geese
- Swans
- Cranes
- Rails
- Herons
- Egrets
- Bitterns
These birds use their bills to snip off and eat tender celery leaves, stalks, and roots. Celery provides birds with hydration and essential nutrients. Seeds are also dispersed through the droppings of birds that eat celery.
Other Wildlife
In addition to the animals listed above, celery is consumed by various other types of wildlife, including:
- Snails and slugs
- Insects like caterpillars, crickets, and grasshoppers
- Turtles
- Frogs and toads
- Fish like carp and tilapia
This diverse range of fauna feeds on the leaves, stalks, roots, and seeds of wild celery plants. Celery provides moisture and nutrients to these animals.
Nutritional Value of Celery
What makes celery so attractive to wildlife is its high nutritional value. Celery contains:
- Water – Celery is 95% water by weight, providing hydration.
- Fiber – Soluble and insoluble fiber aids digestion.
- Vitamin K – Needed for blood clotting.
- Potassium – Helps nerves and muscles function.
- Folate – Important for cell growth and DNA synthesis.
- Vitamin C – Boosts the immune system.
- Vitamin A – Maintains healthy vision and skin.
- Calcium – Essential for bones and teeth.
- Magnesium – Supports muscle and nerve function.
- Phosphorus – Used for cell repair and energy production.
- Sodium – Helps maintain fluid balance.
This diversity of nutrients and minerals makes celery an excellent supplemental food source for wildlife.
Habitats Where Animals Eat Wild Celery
Celery thrives in wet, marshy areas where there is abundant moisture and sunlight. Many types of wild animals consume celery in these water-rich habitats, including:
- Marshes
- Swamps
- Bogs
- Fens
- Sloughs
- Floodplains
- Wet meadows
- River and stream banks
- Coastal estuaries
- Ditches
Celery may also grow in drier areas like woodlands and prairies where there is sufficient groundwater. Animals utilize any celery available within their habitat.
When Do Wild Animals Eat Celery?
The leafy greens and tender stems of celery are most abundant during the growing season from spring through fall. This is when celery provides the greatest benefit to wildlife. Animals rely most heavily on celery:
- In spring when other food sources are still scarce
- In summer when celery is actively growing
- In fall to fatten up before winter
Dormant celery plants still provide food through winter as animals consume the seeds and remaining stalks. Celery is a versatile component of animal diets across all seasons.
Interesting Facts About Wild Animals Eating Celery
- Celery seeds that pass through an animal’s digestive system help disperse the plant far and wide.
- Beavers use celery stalks to construct dams and lodges.
- Black bears eat celery as they emerge from hibernation in early spring.
- Celery can comprise over half of a whitetail deer’s summer diet in marsh habitats.
- Snails and slugs create holes and lacelike patterns when they feed on celery leaves.
- Some birds line their nests with pieces of celery stalks and roots.
- Celery seeds were part of the prairie habitat that fed millions of bison before western settlement.
- Celery juice is given to zoo animals like giraffes as a nutritious treat.
- Packrats and mice help propagate celery by storing and hoarding the seeds.
- Flooding spreads celery seeds to new territories, allowing animals to find the plant.
Conclusion
Celery is an important supplemental food source for all kinds of wild animals. Deer, rabbits, rodents, birds, and other wildlife consume the leaves, stalks, roots, and seeds of celery plants. Celery provides these animals with essential nutrients and minerals that are vital to their health and survival. Animals help disperse celery seeds and aid the plant’s propagation through their feeding habits.
Celery thrives in the marshes, swamps, and wetlands that many wild species call home. Animals feed on celery most heavily during the spring and summer growing season, but utilize the plant year-round. Understanding what wild animals eat like celery provides insight into plant-animal interactions and the interconnected web of nature.