The microbes use special proteins called enzymes to break down cellulose into small bits. Other Ruminants Cows are not the only ruminant animals. Other ruminants include gazelles, giraffes, moose, antelope, caribou, sheep, goats, and deer. Actually, the term rumen is Latin for throat or gullet. The rumen is the first of four stomachs.
Ruminant animals have a lot of room in their rumens.
The rumen is the first of four parts of the stomach in ruminant animals. The rumen is home to billions and billions of microbes, including bacteria, protists, fungi, and viruses. These many different rumen microbes form a complex community of organisms that interact with one another, helping the animal digest its food. This graph shows the relative numbers of different microbes in a cow's rumen. The scale on the left is logarithmic, meaning each higher line represents 100 times more organisms than the line beneath it.