FACTS & INFORMATION
ABOUT RUMINANTS
What is a “ruminant,” and why are they important? Also, what types of ruminants are out there? Find out more below!
What Exactly is a “Ruminant”?
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals that have a unique way of digesting their food.
The word “ruminant” or “ruminate” stems from the Latin word “ruminare” which means “to chew again.”
For us humans, the word “ruminate” means to think or ponder deeply about something.
To a ruminant, though, “ruminate” means “chewing the cud.”
Cud is regurgitated plant material that is partly digested.
They also have a multi-chambered stomach that houses billions of bacteria, protozoa and fungi. This micro-ecology helps the animal to break down plant matter that is high in cellulose into various essential nutrients.
Chewing cud is an evolutionary advantage where the food they eat isn’t chewed just once (as normal with all animals), but twice.
Literally, these animals are like walking decomposition vats on four legs. They are able to break down plant material and excrete what’s left as manure to be turned back into the soil. This makes them important in areas where decomposition outside of the rumen is much slower or almost non-existent.
Check out the links below to get more information on ruminant digestion and how these animals get their nutrients (NOTE: some pages currently in progress, buttons not yet live)
The Taxonomical Family of Ruminants
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Suborder: Ruminantia
- Family: Tragulidae (Chevrotains or mouse deer)
- Family: Giraffidae (giraffes, okapis)
- Family: Antilocapridae (pronghorn antelope)
- Family: Moschidae (musk deer)
- Family: Cervidae
- Subfamily: Capreolinae
- Species include moose, Eurasian elk, roe deer, caribou/reindeer, mule deer, white-tailed deer, brockets & pudus.
- Subfamily: Cervinae
- Species include red deer, American elk (wapiti), Pere David’s deer, Sika deer, muntjacs & sambars.
- Subfamily: Hydropotinae
- Chinese water deer
- Subfamily: Capreolinae
- Family: Bovidae
- Subfamily: Aepycerotinae
- Impala
- Subfamily: Alcelaphinae
- Species include hartebeest, wildebeest, topi & blesbok.
- Subfamily: Antilopinae
- Species include springboks, gazelles, dik-diks, oribis & grysboks.
- Subfamily: Bovinae
- Species include bison, domestic bovine, zebu, yaks, bantengs, guars, water buffalo, African buffalo, nyalas, elands & kudus.
- Subfamily: Caprinae
- Species include Barbary sheep, Bighorn sheep, Dall’s sheep, domestic sheep, domestic goats, ibex, serows, gorals, muskox, Tibetan antelope, chamois & blue sheep.
- Subfamily: Cephalophinae
- Duikers
- Subfamily: Hippotraginae
- Species include addax, blue bucks, roan antelope, sable antelope & oryx.
- Subfamily: Reduncinae
- Species include reedbucks, waterbucks, lechwe, puku & rheboks.
- Subfamily: Aepycerotinae
