Why Does a Cow Chew Its Cud?
Chewing a cud is a process by which some animals, called ruminants (camels, goats, sheep, deer, and cattle), thoroughly digest their food. The cow, for example, has a stomach organized into sections to take care of hard-to-digest food. When the cow first takes in food, it chews it just enough to moisten it. Once swallowed, the f
Many thousands of years ago, there were certain animals who couldnt protect themselves too well against their stronger, fiercer enemies. In order to survive, these animals developed a special way of eating. They would snatch some food hastily whenever they could, swallow it quickly without chewing, and run away to hide. Then when they were in their hiding place, sitting calmly, they would chew the food at their leisure! Our cud-chewing animals are descended from these and are called Ruminantia. It so happens that nearly all the mammals that are most useful to man are Ruminantia. These include cows, sheep, goats, camels, llamas, deer, and antelopes. Here is what makes it possible for a ruminant like a cow to chew its cud. A ruminant has a complicated stomach with five compartments. These compartments are: the paunch or rumen, the honeycomb bag or reticulum, the manyplies or omasum, the true stomach or abomasum, and the intestine.
