From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Apr 28 2003 - 13:12:29 MDT
Damien Sullivan wrote:
> On Mon, Apr 28, 2003 at 12:37:14PM -0400, gts wrote:
>
>> Also we have relatively compact intestinal tracts when compared to
>> the bloated guts of herbivores. Some herbivores even have multiple
>> stomachs. This difference suggests very strongly that we are not
>> natural vegetarians; we were selected by nature to consume a
>> significant percentage of calories from animal sources.
> The animals I think of with bloated
> stomachs (gorillas) or multiple stomachs
> (bovines) eat primarily leaves and grass. Very low energy
> food items, needed in huge bulk.
Right, this is what I'm saying. Herbivorous mammals of all kinds tend to
have massive gastrointestinal tracts (GIT's) relative to their body size. A
brief trip to the local zoo will show this to be true. Giraffes are another
fine example that comes to mind. They have long necks to reach the leaves
and immense GIT's to digest them.
Meanwhile straight carnivores like leopards tend to have relatively sleek
mid-sections.
Omnivores like homo sapiens fall in between.
> But I don't remember monkeys or chimps needing
> bloated stomachs, which makes sense given diet with higher
> energy fruits and such.
Go to the zoo next weekend and take another look at the (non-human)
primates: most of them do in fact have large GIT's and bloated mid-sections,
relative to humans. Gorillas are not the only primate with a large gut,
though perhaps because of their large over-all size one tends to notice them
more. Take a look at the baboons, as a perfect example, and of course the
chimps as well. The bellies of lower primates tend to protrude outward
because of their large GIT's (not because of fat as is the case for their
homo sapien visitors at the zoo :)
-gts
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