When a snake eats a rat, that feeds on leaves of green plants. The snake is a ____________ in the food chain?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Secondary consumer
Food chain: green plants → rat → snake.
The plants are producers. The rat eats the plants, so it is a primary consumer (herbivore). The snake eats the rat, so it is a secondary consumer (primary carnivore).
Option (1) Primary consumer — Incorrect. That is the rat, which feeds directly on plants.
Option (2) Secondary consumer — Correct. The plant is the producer and the rat that eats it is the primary consumer. The snake eats the rat, a consumer, so the snake is a secondary consumer.
Option (3) Tertiary consumer — Incorrect. A tertiary consumer would eat the snake, for example a hawk.
Option (4) Secondary carnivores — Incorrect. A secondary carnivore eats other carnivores, so it is a tertiary consumer. The snake here eats a herbivore.
NCERT Extract:
Ecosystem – Structure and Function – “… The consumers that feed on these herbivores are carnivores, or more correctly primary carnivores (though secondary consumers). Those animals that depend on the primary carnivores for food are labelled secondary carnivores.”