Science & Scripture · Zoology

Rabbits and hares chew their cud like cows do.

Zoology 38 passages in this field

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What current science says

Rabbits don't chew cud - that requires a special multi-chambered stomach that cows have but rabbits don't. Rabbits do eat some of their droppings to get more nutrients (called cecotrophy), but that's completely different from rumination. Easy mistake if you're just watching them chew.

What the text says

Leviticus 11:5-6 calls the coney and the hare unclean because they 'chew the cud' but do not part the hoof - classing rabbits and hares among the cud-chewing ruminants.

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