Mondo Knows Facts
A cow digests grass in four chambers
Microbes in the rumen break down cellulose the cow cannot digest alone The rumen holds a dense community of bacteria and protozoa that ferment plant fibre. Cud is returned to the mouth for more chewing and more saliva. The process produces methane as a by-product, which the animal releases. It sits in Mondo's animals collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
Go further
More facts like this
A koala joey eats its mother's droppingsA special soft stool called pap moves gut microbes into the young gutSkin surface is slightly acidic and hostile to microbesSweat and sebum hold the skin near a pH of five across most of the bodyRabbits eat some of their own droppingsThe first pass through the gut produces soft pellets that are re-swallowedStomach acid is strong enough to dissolve soft metalsGastric juice maintains a low pH to sterilise food and digest proteinsThe small intestine measures roughly six metres in lengthExtensive surface area absorbs most dietary nutrients into the bloodThe large intestine absorbs water and houses trillions of microbesColon microflora break down indigestible fibres and synthesise vitamins
🐾 Animalsfact 153 of 200
← → to keep reading, or swipe
Tags: cattle, digestion, microbes
A cow digests grass in four chambers: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Microbes in the rumen break down cellulose the cow cannot digest alone. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a animals fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.