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Grass-eating animals consume grass and chew it later in the mouth. We don’t have the enzymes to digest the cellulose in our digestive system. But the digestive system of grass-eating animals is built in a different way to digest cellulose. Let’s see about that in this article.
An Overview
Nutrition and digestion are the main characteristics of living entities and are interrelated. Nutrition is obtained from food after the process of digestion. Animal nutrition covers topics such as the requirement of nutrients, mode of intake and utilization of food in the body. Some nutrients are complex in nature and cannot be utilized directly. They require to be broken down into simpler substances, this process is called digestion.
Explore more: Nutrients
Food is consumed differently by different entities. Hummingbirds and bees suck the nectar of plants, snakes swallow their prey, fish feed on floating food particles etc. Digestion is carried out by the digestive system consisting of distinct organs.
Also Refer: Nutrition in Animals
Process of Digestion
Digestion in humans is carried out by an organized and distinct human digestive system. Food is ingested through the mouth and enters into the food pipe or oesophagus through the pharynx and finally to the stomach. On reaching the stomach, complex food is broken down into simpler substances by secreting digestive juices with the absorption of nutrients. Undigested food is further directed to the small and large intestines which carries out further absorption. Unwanted waste is directed to the rectum for excretion.
Digestion in Ruminants
Grass-eating animals are known as ruminants. Animals like cows, goats and buffaloes eat grass. These animals swallow grass quickly and store it in a sac-like structure called the rumen. Rumen forms the first stomach and is four-chambered. Here, food is partially digested and is called the cud. Plants contain cellulose in large quantities. Cellulose is a complex structure which is broken down into simpler particles in the rumen. The process where cud returns to the mouth in small lumps for ruminants to chew is called rumination.
Rumination is aided by bacteria present in the rumen which breaks down cellulose in plants. The digested food is then passed to the reticulum. Some animals including humans cannot digest cellulose for its complex structure.
Some animals including Rabbits and Horses have a large sac-like structure called caecum which is present between the food pipe or the oesophagus and the small intestine. Cellulose present in the food is digested by the action of bacteria which humans do not possess.
Also Read: Digestion In Ruminants
Examples of Grass Eating Animals
Some examples of grass-eating animals:
- Deer
- Goat
- Zebra
- Sheep
- Horse
- Buffalo
- Giraffe
- Elephant
- Rhinoceros
- American Bison
Learn more in detail about digestion in Ruminants – grass-eating animals or any other related topics @ Byju’s Biology
Further Reading:
| Digestion and Absorption |
| Nutrition In Animals: How Animals Eat Their Food? |
Frequently Asked Questions on Digestion In Grass Eating Animals
What is cud?
Ruminants swallow grass quickly and store it in a sac-like structure called the rumen. Rumen forms the first stomach and is four-chambered. Here, food is partially digested and is called the cud.
What is rumination?
Rumination is the process of returning the cud in the form of small lumps back to the mouth for chewing.
What is caecum?
Some animals including Rabbits and Horses have a large sac-like structure called caecum which is present between the food pipe or the oesophagus and the small intestine. Cellulose present in the food is digested here by the action of bacteria.
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