Grazers
-
Digestion
For
wild ungulates, the type of digestive system they possess controls
food selection. Among ungulates there are two types of digestive
systems rumen system and ceacal system.
Both systems
enable ungulates to digest large plant carbohydrates such as cellulose,
using microbial fermentation. While both systems use similar fermentation
processes, the sites of the actual fermentation process differ.
This difference can have important management implications for maintaining
sustainable forage bases.
- Rumen System:
"Ruminants" include the wild ungulates, cattle, goats,
and sheep.
- Caecal System:
The horse has this type of digestive system.
| Rumen
system |
Fermintation
process occurs before the stomach in an area called the rumen.
When roughage is eaten, it is chewed on, soaked with saliva,
and then swallowed. This bolus of food is called “the
cud”. It continues down to the rumen to be digested
by micro-organisms in a fermintation process. At regular intervals
the cud is brought back up to be chewed on some more to break
down large particles and create greater surface areas for
the microbes to work on. Then it is swallowed again. This
entire process is called rumination. |
| Caecal
system |
Fermintation
process occurs after the stomach in a large pouch called the
caecum (an enlarged pouch of the large intestine). |
|