Ruminant Mammals

Ruminant is the name given to a grazing animal that chews its cud and has split hoofs. Such animals as the ox, sheep, cow, camel, llama, deer, goat, antelope, and giraffe are ruminants. The ruminant has an odd way of digesting food. It swallows its food, usually grass, after chewing it only slightly. The food then goes down the animal's esophagus and into the stomach.

Except for camels and some others, most ruminants have a stomach that has four separate cavities. Each cavity helps digest food. The first cavity is called the rumen or paunch. Most of the food collects there after being swallowed. Some food passes directly into the second cavity, called the reticulum. The reticulum has tiny pockets in its walls that look like a honeycomb. Food stored in the rumen passes into the reticulum, where it is softened and formed into soft masses called cuds. As the animal rests, the muscles of the reticulum send the food back to the mouth to be chewed and mixed with saliva. The animal chews with a roundish motion of the jaw and swallows again. The cud passes through the rumen and reticulum to the third cavity, the omasum, and finally into the fourth cavity, the abomasums. In the abomasums, the food mixes with the stomach juice. From the stomach, the food passes into the intestine, where digestion is completed. The digested food is absorbed through the lining of the intestine and passes to all parts of the body through the bloodstream.

The ruminant chews its food with its molars. It does not have any biting teeth, or incisors, in the upper jaw. The lower teeth bite against the hard upper gum.

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