# Are animals that supposedly only eat one plant, really that restricted? **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-that-supposedly-only-eat-one-plant-really-that-restricted/1027158 **Category:** Factual Questions **Created:** [January 29, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-that-supposedly-only-eat-one-plant-really-that-restricted/1027158 "2026-01-29T18:42:56Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 32
### Author: ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux) #### Post date: [January 30, 2026, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-that-supposedly-only-eat-one-plant-really-that-restricted/1027158/32 "2026-01-30T15:24:08Z")
Oh, yes, parasites and parasitoids can be highly spezialised! We had some discussion about them in the “random interesting fact” thread, like here and in some posts before and after that: > [@Tell us an interesting random fact you stumbled across (Part 1)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8284): > > There are probably more species of parasitic animals than all the other animals taken together. I say probably because we haven’t counted all the animals: we don’t know how many there are. But almost every animal you examine close enough has at least one dedicated parasite. Humans, for instance, have at least three [obligate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obligate_parasite) ectoparasites: the [head louse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_louse), the [body louse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_louse) and the [crab louse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_louse). That is not couting the numerous parasited we share with other animals, like the flea, several mites, all ki… Speaking of the Iberian Lynx where I take my avatar and name from, they were extremely specialised eaters, their diet being almost exclusively rabbits. Then **[myxomatosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myxomatosis)** hit the rabbits hard and the lynx almost went extinct. They are very good at catching rabbits, but they struggle with birds, it seems. Their life would be easier if they learned to diversify their diet. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-that-supposedly-only-eat-one-plant-really-that-restricted/1027158)._