What are ruminents?Are they able to digest cellulose?
Thank you for using the Jiskha Homework Help Forum. First of all the dictionary will explain "ruminant" for you:
Main Entry: [2]ruminant
Function: adjective
Date: 1691
1 a (1) : chewing the cud (2) : characterized by chewing again what has been swallowed b : of or relating to a suborder (Ruminantia) of even-toed hoofed mammals (as sheep, giraffes, deer, and camels) that chew the cud and have a complex usually 4-chambered stomach
2 : given to or engaged in contemplation : MEDITATIVE <stood there with her hands clasped in this attitude of ruminant relish —Thomas Wolfe>
(they are ruminant mammals)
Next, here is a cite explaining how ruminants digest cellulose:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose
As a side noted, it is not the ruminants who digest the cellulose: it is microorganisms that they carry in their intestines which break down the cellulose, thence the ruminants can absorb the products of that digestion.