The food chain is the order in which animals and plants eat each other in order to survive. The lowest part of the food chain are the plants. Animals are the consumers of the food chain, they eat other plants and animals and some animals only eat plants but some animals that eat other animals, like wolves, foxes or lions, in which each food chain has a predator, the strongest animal that is not eaten by others.
Food chains that are connected to each other are called food webs. When an animal dies it is eaten up by worms, bacteria and other organisms. These so-called decomposers break down animals and plants into small parts and enrich soil so that other plants can grow better. The nutrients of dead animals and plants are converted back to the soil so that plants can use them again. The balance of plants and animals within a food chain is determined by nature. This also means that there is less food for predators, like lions, to eat. And when there are fewer lions the zebra population will grow again.