Chewing the cud

Ruminants are herbivorous grazing or browsingartiodactyls belonging to the suborderRuminantia that are able to easily acquire nutrients from plant-based fibers (such as cellulose) by fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally through microbial actions. The process, which takes place in the front part of the digestive system and therefore is called foregut fermentation, typically requires the fermented ingesta (known as cud) to be regurgitated and chewed again. The process of rechewing the ingesta to further break down plant matter and stimulate digestion is called rumination or chewing the cud. The word ruminant comes from the Latin rūminārī, "to ruminate", from rūmen, the first stomach.