Mountain Goat Chewing
Montana, USA
A Mountain Goat chews its cud while resting in a field of wildflowers.
In all ruminants, the rumen acts as a big fermentation vat. Fermentation is the breaking down or digestion of food in the absence of oxygen. Bacteria and protozoa in the rumen supply enzymes to break down the fiber in the goat’s feed. The tiny organisms in the rumen also help to build proteins from the feed and manufacture all of the B vitamins needed by the animal.
When roughage is eaten by the goat, it is chewed on, soaked with saliva, and then swallowed. The roughage travels from the esophagus to the rumen, where micro-organisms break down and ferment food particles. At regular intervals, the reticulum forces a bolus of food, called “the cud” back up the esophagus into the goat’s mouth for the goat to re-chew. It is swallowed again. Eventually, the cud contains very small particles that continue on through the digestive tract. This entire process is called rumination.
Photo © copyright by Dr. Edward Mikol.
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