Concept in Definition ABC
Miscellanea / / July 04, 2021
By Florencia Ucha, in Jan. 2015
In our language it is called herbivorous to thatanimal whose feeding is herbal and plant based exclusively. He does not eat meat, a fact that differentiates him especially from animals carnivores that just feed on it. It is worth noting that many herbivores tend to eat eggs and in some cases protein animals.
Now, not all herbivores eat the same, the diet will depend on the weather and the area in which they are found and that is why we can find herbivores that consume only fruits (frugivores) or with those that eat leaves (folivores).
But undoubtedly the herbivores par excellence are those known as ruminants, thus called by the singular way they use to eat plants. They are also the most important because they represent the majority of this order.
The ruminant is characterized by regurgitate the food they ingested from the stomach to return to the mouth and chew it. They are able to swallow a large amount of food in a short period of time, regurgitate it, and then grind it. That is, they cut the plant or grass with
teeth from its bottom and swallow it without chewing. When it reaches the belly the grass returns it to the mouth like food boluses and once in the mouth they chew it slowly. Their huge molars finally grind the grass and when they are in the position of repose.The cow, the goat and the rabbit are some of the most representative exponents of this type.
Herbivorous animals cause damage to some plants, becoming certain predators of them, and in the most extreme cases can cause their death. Rodents for example are capable of doing it. Beyond these specific issues, herbivores also with their action help in pollination with which the imbalance that they can originate is compensated with this action, for example.
It is important that we mention that human beings who only consume vegetables are not herbivores, in this particular case we must speak of vegetarians or vegans.
Topics in Herbivore