 This cow over my shoulder is busy eating its lunch and a little while later it's going to be eating it again That's because it's an animal we call a ruminant Cattle along with deer sheep goats elk and antelope are all categorized as ruminants ruminants digest their food in multiple steps First they plant material and then later regurgitate that material as cudd This cudd is chewed again for better digestion This process is called ruminating Ruminants have four different stomachs and each stomach performs a different purpose in helping to break down and digest food microbes in the first chamber of their stomachs allow the animals to eat cellulose that is found in plant cells and Turn it into nutrients they can use Ruminating also allows an animal to go out in the open eat a large amount of food quickly and Then go off somewhere safe where it can spend time Digesting its food out of danger from predators Interestingly to ruminate can mean to thoughtfully ponder or to meditate on some topic From the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service. I'm Barton Stam Exploring the nature of Wyoming