Question

Explain the digestion in grass eating animals.
Step by step explaination needed.​

Answer 1

Answer

$\bigstar$ Animals go through the same stages of digestion as humans. However, the stages can vary depending on the food they eat. Cows, horses, rabbits are grass-eating animals.

$\bigstar$ Grass contains cellulose. A special bacteria is required to break down cellulose. This is present in grass-eating animals but absent in humans.

Steps of rumination in cow :

$\bigstar$ The cow eats grass through the mouth and partially chews and swallows it. Unlike humans, cows partially chew their food. This partially chewed food is called cud.

$\bigstar$ The cud travels to the stomach. Cows have four chambers in their stomach, whereas humans have only one chamber. The cud is stored in one of the chambers called the rumen.

$\bigstar$ When the cow is resting, the cud returns from the rumen to the mouth, where it is chewed completely. This is known as rumination.

$\bigstar$ The chewed food returns to the rumen, where the bacteria that break down cellulose are found. The cellulose is digested by the bacteria.

$\bigstar$ The digested food is then absorbed, assimilated, and egested, similar to how it is done in humans.