# What did the animals eat on Noah's Ark? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2002, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534 "2002-08-12T14:45:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/1 "2002-08-12T14:45:48Z")
Assume, for a moment, that the biblical story of Noah’s Ark is 100% accurate (I’m an agnostic myself, so I’m no authority on this. But I asked someone who spent 12 years in Christian school, and a friend who is a seminary student. Neither could answer this). That Noah took two of every animal, etc. How was the food chain affected on the voyage? I mean, what did the carnivores eat? I wouldn’t imagine that they were allowed to feed on the other animals. Were there supplies of meat available to them? What about the herbivores? And, now that I think of it, did it have accomodations for water-based creatures? Did Noah bring two sharks on board, or were they just limited to land-based creatures on board? And how did the clean up go? I imagine the stench would have been unbearable. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/2 "2002-08-12T14:50:36Z")
IIRC, there is a long-standing theory that God put all the animals to sleep for the duration. This eliminated problems of predators going after the prey, what to feed the Beasts, and how to clean up and dispose of the poop. Look in Robert Graves’ book **Hebrew Myths** for references. And, as always, take Graves with more than a grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/3 "2002-08-12T15:02:06Z")
Why, unicorn, of course. What did you _think_ happened to them? Seriously, IIRC God tells Noah to take one pair of each _unclean_ beast and seven pairs of each _clean_ (i.e. sacrificible and edible) beast, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the extra pairs were meant for lion fodder. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/4 "2002-08-12T15:18:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Superdude \* > \*\*Assume, for a moment, that the biblical story of Noah’s Ark is 100% accurate (I’m an agnostic myself, so I’m no authority on this. But I asked someone who spent 12 years in Christian school, and a friend who is a seminary student. Neither could answer this). That Noah took two of every animal, etc. > > How was the food chain affected on the voyage? I mean, what did the carnivores eat? I wouldn’t imagine that they were allowed to feed on the other animals. Were there supplies of meat available to them? What about the herbivores? \*\* According to the Talmud, Noah and his family did not have an easy year in the Ark. They worked, literally, around the clock, feeding the animals at their proper time. The story is even related that a lion attacked Noah, because it was not fed at the proper time. As to where the food came from, you have two choices: (a) God provided the food or (b) Noah gathered it, and it was somehow miraculously preserved for the animals and people for the duration. > [@](#): > > \*\* > And, now that I think of it, did it have accomodations for water-based creatures? Did Noah bring two sharks on board, or were they just limited to land-based creatures on board? \*\* According to Jewish commentators, only land animals were brought on the Ark. > [@](#): > > \*\* > And how did the clean up go? I imagine the stench would have been unbearable. \*\* ATJT, the bottom level of the Ark was used for animal waste and refuse. And yes, it may have stunk to high heaven, or it may have been miraculously taken care of. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/5 "2002-08-12T15:36:35Z")
The dinosaurs! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/6 "2002-08-12T16:08:29Z")
Ham. They ate Ham. OK. So Noah didn’t feed Ham to the animals. But I bet he _wanted_ to. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/7 "2002-08-12T16:08:55Z")
Fried trilobite, boiled trilobite, baked trilobite, trilobite stew, trilobite pot pie, trilobite burgers, trilobite salad, trilobite sashimi, barbeque trilobite, trilobite surprise, trilobite lasagna, trilobite sausage, trilobite burritos, trilobite sandwiches. That’s about all… ---
**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/8 "2002-08-12T16:29:11Z")
details get in the way of hyperbole ---
**Author:** ![pincushion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d9b06d/32.png) [@pincushion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pincushion)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/9 "2002-08-12T17:59:54Z")
Well, I suppose the water animals wouldn’t all die out from a massive flooding, except for maybe the ones which are sensitive to changes in salt levels. Noah might have fed fish to the animals! Fish and seaweed. Mmmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![RedNaxela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ad7895/32.png) [@RedNaxela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedNaxela)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/10 "2002-08-12T18:33:39Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by zev\_steinhardt_ > **As to where the food came from, you have two choices: (a) God provided the food or (b) Noah gathered it, and it was somehow miraculously preserved for the animals and people for the duration.** (b) is correct: Genesis 6:21 states that Noah was commanded to lay in a supply of food for all of the occupants of the ark, human and animal. (Although the commentary Kli Yakar adds that Noah could never have gathered enough food to supply all of the animals’ needs, in the natural way, for an entire year; he explains that G-d was telling Noah to do whatever he could, and that He would bless his efforts by arranging matters so that a little food would go a long way.) As for preservation: Rashi (to verse 18 there) comments that G-d’s covenant with Noah, referred to in that verse, includes a promise that the food would be miraculously preserved for the duration of the flood. Re the OP’s question about the carnivores and the food chain: there is a statement somewhere in Jewish literature - I don’t recall where just now, although I believe it’s in the Zohar - that G-d caused all of the animals to be herbivorous for the duration of the flood. [This same source also adds that this was a throwback to the state of affairs at Creation, when all living creatures were herbivorous (Gen. 1:30), as well as a preview of the Messianic era, when “the lion shall eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 11:7).] I don’t know if this is unanimously accepted, though, since the Talmud (Sanhedrin 108b) tells how Noah finally figured out that the _zikis_ (chameleon?) needs worms in its diet. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/11 "2002-08-12T18:42:06Z")
G-d commanded Noah to gather all food that the animals would want. Genesis 6:21. One assumes that Noah had means of preservation and storage. Perhaps he even had some live animals on board which he marked as food and not as breeding pairs. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/12 "2002-08-12T18:54:02Z")
Well, I’m not sure about the main part of their diet but I understand every afternoon about 4:30 they had some animal crackers. Oh yeah, Cal, I dig Robert Graves! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/13 "2002-08-12T18:58:30Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Superdude \* > \*\* I mean, what did the carnivores eat?_\* Egg and bacon; egg, sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg, bacon and spam; egg, bacon, sausage and spam; spam, bacon, sausage and spam; spam, egg, spam, spam, bacon and spam; spam, sausage, spam, spam, spam, bacon, spam, tomato and spam; spam, spam, spam, egg and spam; spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, baked beans, spam, spam, spam and spam. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/14 "2002-08-12T19:46:31Z")
Nonbelievers, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/15 "2002-08-12T20:28:53Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Superdude_ > I mean, what did the carnivores eat? The menu was quite boring actually… had to repeat every fourth day. 1st day breakfast… Unicorn 1st day lunch… Dragon 1st day dinner… Griffin 2nd day breakfast… Harpy 2nd day lunch… Phoenix 2nd day dinner… Kraken 3rd day breakfast… Pegasus 3rd day lunch… Manticore 3rd day dinner… Sphinx Oh, and spam on the side… ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-animals-eat-on-noahs-ark/123534/16 "2002-08-13T03:56:46Z")
Actually, they took along a large number of elephants, and (it being very wet) there was a plentiful supply of gnats. Surprisingly, they found that they could swallow the elephants whole, but choked on the gnats. In addition to the pairs of animals, they also took along on the ark a pair of theologians. Luckily the theologians did not feel any hunger and bother Noah for food, because they were too busy arguing about how many angels fit on the head of a pin to worry about trivialities.