Thursday, August 23, 2007
Hare - chewer of the cud
So I'm studying for meeting tonight on how the Bible is scientifically sound and it mentions Leviticus 11:6 which states "Also the hare, because it is a chewer of the cud". Apparently this scripture has been attacked by many critics that the rabbit doesn't chew the cud. After doing some research it looks like it does through a process known as "refection", here's what it says:
"Frenchman Morot discovered in 1882 that rabbits reingest up to 90 percent of their daily intake. Concerning the hare, Ivan T. Sanderson in a recent publication remarks: “One of the most extraordinary [habits], to our way of thinking, is their method of digestion. This is not unique to Leporids [hares, rabbits] and is now known to occur in many Rodents. When fresh green food, as opposed to desiccated [dried] winter forage, is available, the animals gobble it up voraciously and then excrete it around their home lairs in a semi-digested form. After some time this is then re-eaten, and the process may be repeated more than once. In the Common Rabbit, it appears that only the fully grown adults indulge this practice.”—Living Mammals of the World, 1955, p. 114."
Nasty