How does digestion work in a giraffe?

Answer 1

Many herbivores do not have upper incisors (the teeth on the top jaw in the very front that cut food), cutting the plants with their lips instead. However, all herbivores need their molars (the big flat teeth at the back of the mouth) for grinding the mouthfuls of food. A herbivore's molars are big and ridged for better grinding. Herbivore skulls have spaces for big muscles to be attached to move their jaws for so much chewing. Plants, particularly grasses, are very hard to digest. Animals that eat plants need to have a particular bacteria inside their bodies to help break down the tough plants so that they release nutrients. This process is called fermentation.

a giraffe has 4 parts to their stomachs:

Food goes to the first parts, called the rumen (say room-in) and the reticulum (say reh-tick-you-lm), where some digestion takes place. Later on this food, now called cud, is brought back up into the animal's mouth to be chewed more. This is called chewing the cud. The cud is then swallowed and goes into the third and fourth parts of the stomach, called the omasum (say oh-ma-sm) and abomasum (say uh-boe-ma-sm), where digestion continues. Ruminants do not need to drink very much water because there is moisture in and on the plants they eat.