Question of the Week: Do rabbits really "chew the cud"?

 

answersingenesis.org | newsletter archives | contact us February 18, 2012 a weekly look at answersingenesis.org
In this issue . . . Q&A: Do rabbits really "chew the cud"? Video On Demand: Only One Race, Part 2 (Sidebar) Ken's Blog (Sidebar) News to Note Quick Look Answers ... with Ken Ham After Eden Network with Us! Job Opportunities at Answers in Genesis (Sidebar) Q: Do rabbits really "chew the cud"? A: Two places in the Bible include the hare among animals that chew the cud. Deuteronomy 14:7 states, "Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax." In the modern scientific classification system, animals that chew the cud (cattle, sheep, deer, giraffes, and camels) are called ruminants. Ruminants have four stomach compartments. They swallow their food into one stomach compartment where food is partially digested. Then the food is regurgitated back into the mouth, chewed again, and then swallowed into a different stomach compartment. Obviously, rabbits do not share the digestive anatomy of modern ruminants. However, to describe rabbits chewing the cud is not incorrect. Rabbits engage in an activity called cecotrophy, in which small pellets of partially digested food (called cecotropes) are passed through the animal but are then reingested. These cecotropes serve as a very important source of nutrition for the animal. Is this the same as cud? In the final analysis, it is. Cud-chewing completes the digestion of partially digested food. Why would it be strange to think that centuries ago, the idea of "cud" had a somewhat broader meaning than a modern definition? Continue reading to see how Scripture is once again validated as scientifically accurate, even in the details of a rabbit's digestive process. News to Note Quick Look Stripy ones don't look tasty: Move over, Rudyard Kipling. Here's a "Just So Story" extrapolating from Hungarian horseflies and plastic zebras to the evolutionary past of zebras on the African savannah. Read more. Forbid them not: Budget Travel is taking a poll for "15 places every kid should see before 15." Several atheist groups are very upset the Creation Museum recently made it to the top. Read more. Also: Peppered moth again Mother of all living? Epigenetic on-off switches And Don't Miss . . . Answers ... with Ken Ham radio program Six "days" or six "ages"—which was it? Six "days"—what do the scholars say? The age of the earth—what does science say? Six literal days of creation—divisive? Jesus Christ—3,000 years in the grave? After Eden Network with Us! Answers in Genesis Answers in Genesis Creation Museum Creation Museum Ark Encounter Ark Encounter Answers Magazine   Note: Facebook and Twitter are both social networking sites with user-contributed content. Children should not visit the sites without parental supervision.  Free app for iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad	This Week . . . Feedback: Gender-related Moral Implications of the Doctor to Patient Relationship (Feb 17) Final Piece of Land for Full-size Ark Purchased (Feb 16) From Dust to Dust (Feb 15) Contradictions: Do Rabbits Really "Chew the Cud"? (Feb 14) Prayer Requests and Praises, February 2012 (Feb 13) Night Stalker (Feb 12) Video On Demand Only One Race, Part 2 Watch Video Ken's Blog AiG Radio Program Receives Overhaul Atheists Use Unethical Tactics to Attack Creation Museum Keeping Up with Technology Should Christians Plan Ahead? AiG Reaching into Russia Previous entries Prayer Requests Visit our prayer site to keep track of and pray for current ministry needs. Resources Logic and Faith Pocket Guide - eBook Tower of Babel Answers Magazine Subscription: United States 7 C's of History More current bestsellers Upcoming Events Kentucky Covington - Sunday Speaking, February 26 Kentucky Paducah - Not Ashamed Creation Conference, March 4–5 Kentucky College Speaking, March 5 South Carolina Teach Them Diligently Conference, March 15–17 Kentucky Children's Ministry Leaders Conference, March 22–23 More events Job Opportunities Business Information Analyst Customer Service Associate (Seasonal) Housekeeping Staff Internship Opportunities
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