The herd of animals on the planet are like domesticated cows.. but bodies are "sectioned" with different meats.. the horns grow vegetables and fruits that the humans can eat... they know they will not starve until they realize they too become one of these animals and provide food for future landings
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1You can accept a correct answer by clicking on the checkmark by the voting buttons, as per the tour. Incorrect answers are an excellent chance to edit in more detail, e.g. "I know it isn't Huge Tracts of Land because the horns of the animals were not shaped like cornucopias and there was no subplot of the resident biologist deciding that the animal was the perfect mate as well."– FuzzyBootsCommented Oct 22 at 20:30
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Close vote: Answer accepted by comment– DavidWCommented Oct 24 at 3:48
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1 Answer
Probably "Drop Dead" by Clifford Simak as per Short story where interplanetary explorers find a strange planet that's weirdly suited for human life
The story follows a team of human scientists exploring a new planet, which seems to be extremely efficient evolutionarily — there is only one species of bacteria and one land animal, referred to as "critters". The critters seem to grow vegetation and insects on their hides. A couple of them drop dead in front of the scientists, allowing them to study and later consume them...to their detriment.
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Bizarre Alien Biology: The critters are all sorts of wild colors like violets and greens, compared to a garish quilt or a multicolored checkerboard. They seem to grow vegetation and meat on their hides, to the astonishment of the scientists. Consuming them causes one to transform into them, which appears to involve a metamorphosis-like process.
Found by searching this site for [story-identification] explorers animals food as I thought we'd had it before.
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PERFECT..... that is definitely what I was looking for.. thank you FuzzyBoots!!!!!– L WaldCommented Oct 24 at 0:51
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