What are the advantages of ruminant digestion?
I wouldn’t call the ruminant digestive system ‘advantageous’, rather it’s specialized. In order to get energy out of the plants they eat, the matter needs to be processed longer and in different ways. Ruminating adds the process of further physical breakdown before additional chemical processing by the specialized (that word again) bacteria inside the system. Ruminant digestive systems are over 100 feet to handle all this processing and breaking down of plants. Humans are about 30. Dogs are about 3 feet. “Sharp teeth and short guts” identifies the carnivore, working with more easily digested meat proteins.
