The ruminants are a group of cloven-hooved, cud-chewing mammals equipped with horns or antlers that includes in its numbers the antelope, cattle, bison, buffalo, goats, sheep, elk, moose, and deer. They are widespread across the old world and North America, and have been introduced to many islands and every continent except Antarctica by man. The general ruminant form has been modified to suit everything from huge plains-dwelling bruisers to agile cliff-jumpers and fleet-footed runners; ruminants have evolved forms to exploit every habitat type and many different size ranges.
Male ruminants have horns or antlers. They use these as weapons against predators and to fight for dominance among themselves. Some are sharp and used for stabbing, others are curved back to expose a flat base to provide a device for ramming and slamming. In many species, the females also have horns.
Ruminants tend to be alert and quick to startle. Their best defense is a good turn of speed, and they will run from danger if given the chance. Many species, however, can get rather ornery and will use their horns and hooves on an antagonist if cornered, wounded, or brought to bay. Large species sometimes attack smaller annoyances without much provokation, particularly males during the rut.
Ruminants have excellent hearing and an acute sense of smell. They use these two senses to warn them of danger and to communicate among themselves. Their eyesight is good for detecting movement, but poor at discerning details or color. The ruminant's sense of touch is primarily centered around the muzzle and lips - a curious ruminant will nuzzle or mouth an object it is trying to investigate.
One reason for the ruminants' success is their highly efficient digestive system. They have a large fermenting gut that can process nearly any plant material and extract nutrients. After grazing or browsing, partially digested food is brought up to be chewed a second time as the ruminant rests, then swallowed again. All ruminants are exclusively herbivores, but they can subsist on low quality fodder. Some ruminants take this to extremes, and can thrive on thorny, woody, dried up scrub.
Ruminants are usually active around dusk and dawn, and bed down durring other parts of the day. Most species gather together in herds, with the males defending territories durring the rutting season but grouping together in bachelor herds for the rest of the year. Females and their young tend to stay in herds year round.
Ruminants have been extensively hunted by man for meat, leather, and horns. This has driven a few species to extinction and made others rare, although many species have adapted to human persecution. A number ruminants have been domesticated by man, such as cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, and reindeer. These provide meat, leather, milk, and wool for our needs, as well as traction to pull plows, carts, or wagons.
The bison is a large, sturdy, hump-shouldered bovid covered with wooly hair from North America (a closely related species used to live in Eurasia). Bison live in prairies, mountains, and open forests. They group into herds of thousands or even millions of individuals. The bulls are typically found alone or in small groups, but durring the rut, from July to September, they join the main herds and fight fiercely for access to females. Combat consists of two bulls ramming each other head first.
In modern times, bison have been greatly reduced in numbers but still occur in the wild in a few areas. There are many captive bison, which are ranched for their meat and hides.
Cattle are large, stoutly built bovids. The sharp horns sprout from the sides of the skull and curve forward. The tail is long and tufted. Wild cattle live in forests and meadows, and are primarily grazers. Cattle have long been domesticated by man, and provide us with beef, leather, and milk. Specialized breeds have been developed, modern cattle are typically specialized either for meat or for dairy. Beef cattle tend to be fairly hardy and able to look after themselves. Dairy cattle are gentle creatures but need a considerable amount of care to thrive.
Bighorns are a wild sheep inhabiting the rugged lands of the North American west. Once common, they have been decimated by hunting and diseases introduced by domestic sheep. The males have huge curving horns that they use in contests of strength, typically involving pushing, shoving, and impressive displays where the combattants rear up on their hind legs and slam into each other head-first. These battles decide the dominance hierarchy of the male herds, and establish who gets to mate with the females during the rut. Typically, the most dominant animal is the one with the largest horns. Females live in separate herds with the young, and are only joined by the males in the rut, in late autumn. Bighorns are sure footed and agile climbers on the slopes, cliffs and escarpments where they make their homes.
The domestic sheep has been introduced by man to all suitable lands worldwide. It is typically unable to survive without human supervision. People value sheep for their wool, which is used to make a warm cloth that continues to hold heat when wet. In addition, sheep provide a tasty meat. Sheep are extremely gregarious, grouping together into a large flock, and instinctively follow their leader.
Mountain goats are fleecy white runimants living on the most rugged and inaccessible lands of the North American west. They are superb climbers and jumpers, easily scaling sheer cliffs. Mountain goats are quite pugnaceous; they frequently squabble among themselves and will stand their ground to fight off predators with their sharp horns.
Pronghorn are an antelope-like animal native to the plains and deserts of the American West. Phenominal athletes, pronghorn are the second fastest land animal and have a high speed endurance unmatched in the animal world. They are alert and edgy, fleeing at any sign of danger. Thier undoing is the fence, for all their athletic prowess, pronghorn are poor jumpers and if they cannot squeeze underneath the fence, they are cut off from their usual migration routes. Pronghorn are unusually curious - hunters would often lure them into shooting range by tying a white handkerchief to a fence, then waiting motionless for the pronghorn to come and investigate this unusual occurance.
The mule deer is a graceful browser and grazer of hillsides and upland slopes of the American West. They move about in small groups. When startled, they run uphill in a series of small jumps, called "stotting". While slow on level ground, it this hopping run lets them move up even the steepest slopes at full speed. The males grow antlers starting in spring, which reach full size and strength for the autumn rut. Before the rut, the antlers are delicate and covered with blood rich "velvet". Antlers are shed in winter. Femals keep a bare head year round.
White tail deer are exceptionally graceful browsers found in overgrowth and forests in North America. They are fast runners and exceptional leapers. When startled, they raise their flag-like white tails as an alarm while they run off at high speeds for dense cover. Like the mule deer, the males grow antlers starting in spring which are ready for use by the fall rut, and which are shed in winter.
The elk, or wapiti, are a large deer native to North America. They are found on plains and open woodlands. Like other deer, only the males grow horns, which are ready for use in the rut and which are dropped in winter. In the rut, the males announce their presence with whistling bugles.
The moose is a gigantic swamp deer found in the northern regions of the world. They have a goofy looking, ungainly appearance with their long and lanky legs. The males grow large antlers shaped something like the palm and figers of a human hand. the antlers are shed in the winter.
The caribou is deer of the north, found in arctic and forest areas in both the new and old world. Both males and females grow antlers, those of the male are large and used for fighting during the rut while those of females are smaller and used for digging in the snow for food. Caribou mostly eat lichen. Old world caribou (called reindeer) have been domesticated for meat and traction.