Topic: cow

Cattle (Bos taurus) are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a
prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of
the genus Bos. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult males are referred
to as bulls.

Cattle are commonly raised as livestock for meat (beef or veal, see beef cattle),
for milk (see dairy cattle), and for hides, which are used to make leather. They
are used as riding animals and draft animals (oxen or bullocks, which pull carts,
plows and other implements). Another product of cattle is their dung, which can be
used to create manure or fuel. In some regions, such as parts of India, cattle have
significant religious significance. Cattle, mostly small breeds such as the
Miniature Zebu, are also kept as pets.

Different types of cattle are common to different geographic areas. Taurine cattle
are found primarily in Europe and temperate areas of Asia, America, and Australia.
Zebus (also called indicine cattle) are found primarily in India and tropical areas
of Asia, America, and Australia. Sanga cattle are found primarily in sub-Saharan
Africa. These types (which are sometimes classified as separate species or
subspecies) are further divided into over 1000 recognized breeds.

Around 10,500 years ago, taurine cattle were domesticated from as few as 80 wild
aurochs progenitors in central Anatolia, the Levant and Western Iran. A separate
domestication event occurred in the Indian subcontinent, which gave rise to zebu.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), there are approximately
1.5 billion cattle in the world as of 2018. Cattle are the main source of
greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, and are responsible for around 10% of
global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, cattle became one of the first livestock
animals to have a fully mapped genome.

Taxonomy
Cattle were originally identified as three separate species: Bos taurus, the
European or "taurine" cattle (including similar types from Africa and Asia); Bos
indicus, the Indicine or "zebu"; and the extinct Bos primigenius, the aurochs. The
aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and taurine cattle. They were later reclassified
as one species, Bos taurus, with the aurochs and zebu as subspecies. However, this
taxonomy is contentious and some sources prefer the separate species
classification, such as the American Society of Mammalogists' Mammal Diversity
Database.Complicating the matter is the ability of cattle to interbreed with other
closely related species. Hybrid individuals and even breeds exist, not only between
taurine cattle and zebu (such as the sanga cattle (Bos taurus africanus x Bos
indicus), but also between one or both of these and some other members of the genus
Bos – yaks (the dzo or yattle), banteng, and gaur. Hybrids such as the beefalo
breed can even occur between taurine cattle and either species of bison, leading
some authors to consider them part of the genus Bos, as well. The hybrid origin of
some types may not be obvious – for example, genetic testing of the Dwarf Lulu
breed, the only taurine-type cattle in Nepal, found them to be a mix of taurine
cattle, zebu, and yak. However, cattle cannot be successfully hybridized with more
distantly related bovines such as water buffalo or African buffalo.

The aurochs originally ranged throughout Europe, North Africa, and much of Asia. In
historical times, its range became restricted to Europe, and the last known
individual died in Mazovia, Poland, in about 1627. Breeders have attempted to
recreate cattle of similar appearance to aurochs by crossing traditional types of
domesticated cattle, creating the Heck cattle breed.

The only pure African taurine breeds (Bos taurus africanus) remaining are the
N'Dama, Kuri and some varieties of the West African Shorthorn.
Etymology
Cattle did not originate as the term for bovine animals. It was borrowed from
Anglo-Norman catel, itself from medieval Latin capitale 'principal sum of money,
capital', itself derived in turn from Latin caput 'head'. Cattle originally meant
movable personal property, especially livestock of any kind, as opposed to real
property (the land, which also included wild or small free-roaming animals such as
chickens—they were sold as part of the land). The word is a variant of chattel (a
unit of personal property) and closely related to capital in the economic sense.
The term replaced earlier Old English feoh 'cattle, property', which survives today
as fee (cf. German: Vieh, Dutch: vee, Gothic: faihu).

The word cow came via Anglo-Saxon cū (plural cȳ), from Common Indo-European gʷōus
(genitive gʷowés) 'a bovine animal', cf. Persian: gâv, Sanskrit: go-, Welsh: buwch.
The plural cȳ became ki or kie in Middle English, and an additional plural ending
was often added, giving kine, kien, but also kies, kuin and others. This is the
origin of the now archaic English plural, kine. The Scots language singular is coo
or cou, and the plural is kye.

In older English sources such as the King James Version of the Bible, cattle refers
to livestock, as opposed to deer which refers to wildlife. Wild cattle may refer to
feral cattle or to undomesticated species of the genus Bos. Today, when used
without any other qualifier, the modern meaning of cattle is usually restricted to
domesticated bovines.

Terminology
In general, the same words are used in different parts of the world, but with minor
differences in the definitions. The terminology described here contrasts the
differences in definition between the United Kingdom and other British-influenced
parts of the world such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United
States.

An "intact" (i.e., not castrated) adult male is called a bull.

A father bull is called a sire with reference to his offspring.

An adult female that has had a calf (or two, depending on regional usage) is a cow.

A mother cow is called a dam with reference to her offspring. Often, mentions of
dams imply cows kept in the herd for repeated breeding (as opposed to heifers or
cows sold off sooner).

A young female before she has had a calf of her own and who is under three years of
age is called a heifer ( HEF-ər). A young female that has had only one calf is
occasionally called a first-calf heifer. Heiferettes are either first-calf heifers
or a subset thereof without potential to become lineage dams, depending on whose
definition is operative.

Young cattle (of any sex or intersex) are called calves until they are weaned, then
weaners until they are a year old in some areas; in other areas, particularly with
male beef cattle, they may be known as feeder calves or simply feeders. After that,
they are referred to as yearlings or stirks if between one and two years of age.

Feeder cattle or store cattle are young cattle soon to be either backgrounded or
sent to fattening, most especially those intended to be sold to someone else for
finishing. In some regions, a distinction between stockers and feeders (by those
names) is the distinction of backgrounding versus immediate sale to a finisher.

A castrated male is called a steer in the United States; older steers are often
called bullocks in other parts of the world, but in North America this term refers
to a young bull. Piker bullocks are micky bulls (uncastrated young male bulls) that
were caught, castrated and then later lost. In Australia, the term Japanese ox is
used for grain-fed steers in the weight range of 500 to 650 kg that are destined
for the Japanese meat trade. In North America, draft cattle under four years old
are called working steers. Improper or late castration on a bull results in it
becoming a coarse steer known as a stag in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In
some countries, an incompletely castrated male is known also as a rig.

A castrated male (occasionally a female or in some areas a bull) kept for draft or
riding purposes is called an ox (plural oxen); ox may also be used to refer to some
carcass products from any adult cattle, such as ox-hide, ox-blood, oxtail, or ox-
liver.

A springer is a cow or heifer close to calving.

In all cattle species, a female twin of a bull usually becomes an infertile partial
intersex, and is called a freemartin.

A wild, young, unmarked bull is known as a micky in Australia.

An unbranded bovine of either sex is called a maverick in the US and Canada.

Neat (horned oxen, from which neatsfoot oil is derived), beef (young ox) and
beefing (young animal fit for slaughtering) are obsolete terms, although poll,
pollard and polled cattle are still terms in use for naturally hornless animals, or
in some areas also for those that have been disbudded or dehorned.

Cattle raised for human consumption are called beef cattle. Within the American
beef cattle industry, the older term beef (plural beeves) is still used to refer to
an animal of either sex. Some Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and British people
use the term beast.

Cattle bred specifically for milk production are called milking or dairy cattle; a
cow kept to provide milk for one family may be called a house cow or milker. A
fresh cow is a dairy term for a cow or first-calf heifer who has recently given
birth, or "freshened."

The adjective applying to cattle in general is usually bovine. The terms bull, cow
and calf are also used by extension to denote the sex or age of other large
animals, including whales, hippopotamuses, camels, elk and elephants.

Various other terms for cattle or types thereof are historical; these include nowt,
nolt, mart, and others.

Singular terminology issue

"Cattle" can only be used in the plural and not in the singular: it is a plurale
tantum. Thus one may refer to "three cattle" or "some cattle", but not "one
cattle". "One head of cattle" is a valid though periphrastic way to refer to one
animal of indeterminate or unknown age and sex; otherwise no universally used
single-word singular form of cattle exists in modern English, other than the sex-
and age-specific terms such as cow, bull, steer and heifer. Historically, "ox" was
not a sex-specific term for adult cattle, but generally this is now used only for
working cattle, especially adult castrated males. The term is also incorporated
into the names of other species, such as the musk ox and "grunting ox" (yak), and
is used in some areas to describe certain cattle products such as ox-hide and
oxtail.Cow is in general use as a singular for the collective cattle. The word cow
is easy to use when a singular is needed and the sex is unknown or irrelevant—when
"there is a cow in the road", for example. Further, any herd of fully mature cattle
in or near a pasture is statistically likely to consist mostly of cows, so the term
is probably accurate even in the restrictive sense. Other than the few bulls needed
for breeding, the vast majority of male cattle are castrated as calves and are used
as oxen or slaughtered for meat before the age of three years. Thus, in a pastured
herd, any calves or herd bulls usually are clearly distinguishable from the cows
due to distinctively different sizes and clear anatomical differences. Merriam-
Webster and Oxford Living Dictionaries recognize the sex-nonspecific use of cow as
an alternate definition, whereas Collins and the OED do not.

Colloquially, more general nonspecific terms may denote cattle when a singular form
is needed. Head of cattle is usually used only after a numeral. Australian, New
Zealand and British farmers use the term beast or cattle beast. Bovine is also used
in Britain. The term critter is common in the western United States and Canada,
particularly when referring to young cattle. In some areas of the American South
(particularly the Appalachian region), where both dairy and beef cattle are
present, an individual animal was once called a "beef critter", though that term is
becoming archaic.

Other terminology
Cattle raised for human consumption are called beef cattle. Within the beef cattle
industry in parts of the United States, the term beef (plural beeves) is still used
in its archaic sense to refer to an animal of either sex. Cows of certain breeds
that are kept for the milk they give are called dairy cows or milking cows
(formerly milch cows). Most young male offspring of dairy cows are sold for veal,
and may be referred to as veal calves.

The term dogies is used to describe orphaned calves in the context of ranch work in
the American West, as in "Keep them dogies moving". In some places, a cow kept to
provide milk for one family is called a "house cow". Other obsolete terms for
cattle include "neat" (this use survives in "neatsfoot oil", extracted from the
feet and legs of cattle), and "beefing" (young animal fit for slaughter).

An onomatopoeic term for one of the most common sounds made by cattle is moo (also
called lowing). There are a number of other sounds made by cattle, including calves
bawling, and bulls bellowing. Bawling is most common for cows after weaning of a
calf. The bullroarer makes a sound similar to a bull's territorial call.

Characteristics
Anatomy
Cattle are large quadrupedal ungulate mammals with cloven hooves. Most breeds have
horns, which can be as large as the Texas Longhorn or small like a scur. Careful
genetic selection has allowed polled (hornless) cattle to become widespread.

Digestive system
Cattle are ruminants, meaning their digestive system is highly specialized to allow
the consumption of difficult to digest plants as food. Cattle have one stomach with
four compartments, the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum, with the rumen being
the largest compartment.

The reticulum, the smallest compartment, is known as the "honeycomb". The omasum's
main function is to absorb water and nutrients from the digestible feed. The omasum
is known as the "many plies". The abomasum is like the human stomach; this is why
it is known as the "true stomach".

Cattle are known for regurgitating and re-chewing their food, known as cud chewing,
like most ruminants. While the animal is feeding, the food is swallowed without
being chewed and goes into the rumen for storage until the animal can find a quiet
place to continue the digestion process. The food is regurgitated, a mouthful at a
time, back up to the mouth, where the food, now called the cud, is chewed by the
molars, grinding down the coarse vegetation to small particles. The cud is then
swallowed again and further digested by specialized microorganisms in the rumen.
These microbes are primarily responsible for decomposing cellulose and other
carbohydrates into volatile fatty acids cattle use as their primary metabolic fuel.
The microbes inside the rumen also synthesize amino acids from non-protein
nitrogenous sources, such as urea and ammonia. As these microbes reproduce in the
rumen, older generations die and their cells continue on through the digestive
tract. These cells are then partially digested in the small intestines, allowing
cattle to gain a high-quality protein source. These features allow cattle to thrive
on grasses and other tough vegetation.

Gestation and size

The gestation period for a cow is about nine months long. A newborn calf's size can
vary among breeds, but a typical calf weighs 25 to 45 kg (55 to 99 lb). Adult size
and weight vary significantly among breeds and sex. Steers are generally
slaughtered before reaching 750 kg (1,650 lb). Breeding stock may be allowed a
longer lifespan, occasionally living as long as 25 years. The oldest recorded cow,
Big Bertha, died at the age of 48 in 1993.

Reproduction
On farms it is very common to use artificial insemination (AI), a medically
assisted reproduction technique consisting of the artificial deposition of semen in
the female's genital tract. It is used in cases where the spermatozoa can not reach
the fallopian tubes or simply by choice of the owner of the animal. It consists of
transferring, to the uterine cavity, spermatozoa previously collected and
processed, with the selection of morphologically more normal and mobile
spermatozoa.

A cow's udder contains two pairs of mammary glands, (commonly referred to as teats)
creating four "quarters". The front ones are referred to as fore quarters and the
rear ones rear quarters.Synchronization of cattle ovulation to benefit dairy
farming may be accomplished via induced ovulation techniques.

The secondary sex ratio – the ratio of male to female offspring at birth – is
approximately 52:48, although it may be influenced by environmental and other
factors.

Bulls become fertile at about seven months of age. Their fertility is closely
related to the size of their testicles, and one simple test of fertility is to
measure the circumference of the scrotum: a young bull is likely to be fertile once
this reaches 28 centimetres (11 in); that of a fully adult bull may be over 40
centimetres (16 in).A bull has a fibro-elastic penis. Given the small amount of
erectile tissue, there is little enlargement after erection. The penis is quite
rigid when non-erect, and becomes even more rigid during erection. Protrusion is
not affected much by erection, but more by relaxation of the retractor penis muscle
and straightening of the sigmoid flexure.

Weight
The weight of adult cattle varies, depending on the breed. Smaller kinds, such as
Dexter and Jersey adults, range between 300 and 500 kg (600 and 1,000 lb). Large
Continental breeds, such as Charolais, Marchigiana, Belgian Blue and Chianina
adults range from 640 to 1,100 kg (1,400 to 2,500 lb). British breeds, such as
Hereford, Angus, and Shorthorn, mature at 500 to 900 kg (1,000 to 2,000 lb),
occasionally higher, particularly with Angus and Hereford. Bulls are larger than
cows of the same breed by up to a few hundred kilograms. British Hereford cows
weigh 600–800 kg (1,300–1,800 lb); the bulls weigh 1,000–1,200 kg (2,200–2,600 lb).
Chianina bulls can weigh up to 1,500 kg (3,300 lb); British bulls, such as Angus
and Hereford, can weigh as little as 900 kg (2,000 lb) and as much as 1,400 kg
(3,000 lb).The world record for the heaviest bull was 1,740 kg (3,840 lb), a
Chianina named Donetto, when he was exhibited at the Arezzo show in 1955. The
heaviest steer was eight-year-old 'Old Ben', a Shorthorn/Hereford cross weighing in
at 2,140 kg (4,720 lb) in 1910.In the United States, the average weight of beef
cattle has steadily increased, especially since the 1970s, requiring the building
of new slaughterhouses able to handle larger carcasses. New packing plants in the
1980s stimulated a large increase in cattle weights. Before 1790 beef cattle
averaged only 160 kg (350 lb) net; and thereafter weights climbed steadily.

Cognition
In laboratory studies, young cattle are able to memorize the locations of several
food sources and retain this memory for at least 8 hours, although this declined
after 12 hours. Fifteen-month-old heifers learn more quickly than adult cows which
have had either one or two calvings, but their longer-term memory is less stable.
Mature cattle perform well in spatial learning tasks and have a good long-term
memory in these tests. Cattle tested in a radial arm maze are able to remember the
locations of high-quality food for at least 30 days. Although they initially learn
to avoid low-quality food, this memory diminishes over the same duration. Under
less artificial testing conditions, young cattle showed they were able to remember
the location of feed for at least 48 days. Cattle can make an association between a
visual stimulus and food within 1 day—memory of this association can be retained
for 1 year, despite a slight decay.Calves are capable of discrimination learning
and adult cattle compare favourably with small mammals in their learning ability in
the Closed-field Test.They are also able to discriminate between familiar
individuals, and among humans. Cattle can tell the difference between familiar and
unfamiliar animals of the same species (conspecifics). Studies show they behave
less aggressively toward familiar individuals when they are forming a new group.
Calves can also discriminate between humans based on previous experience, as shown
by approaching those who handled them positively and avoiding those who handled
them aversively. Although cattle can discriminate between humans by their faces
alone, they also use other cues such as the color of clothes when these are
available.In audio play-back studies, calves prefer their own mother's
vocalizations compared to the vocalizations of an unfamiliar mother.In laboratory
studies using images, cattle can discriminate between images of the heads of cattle
and other animal species. They are also able to distinguish between familiar and
unfamiliar conspecifics. Furthermore, they are able to categorize images as
familiar and unfamiliar individuals.When mixed with other individuals, cloned
calves from the same donor form subgroups, indicating that kin discrimination
occurs and may be a basis of grouping behaviour. It has also been shown using
images of cattle that both artificially inseminated and cloned calves have similar
cognitive capacities of kin and non-kin discrimination.Cattle can recognize
familiar individuals. Visual individual recognition is a more complex mental
process than visual discrimination. It requires the recollection of the learned
idiosyncratic identity of an individual that has been previously encountered and
the formation of a mental representation. By using two-dimensional images of the
heads of one cow (face, profiles, 3⁄4 views), all the tested heifers showed
individual recognition of familiar and unfamiliar individuals from their own breed.
Furthermore, almost all the heifers recognized unknown individuals from different
breeds, although this was achieved with greater difficulty. Individual recognition
was most difficult when the visual features of the breed being tested were quite
different from the breed in the image, for example, the breed being tested had no
spots whereas the image was of a spotted breed.Cattle use visual/brain
lateralisation in their visual scanning of novel and familiar stimuli. Domestic
cattle prefer to view novel stimuli with the left eye, i.e. using the right brain
hemisphere (similar to horses, Australian magpies, chicks, toads and fish) but use
the right eye, i.e. using the left hemisphere, for viewing familiar stimuli.

Temperament and emotions

In cattle, temperament can affect production traits such as carcass and meat
quality or milk yield as well as affecting the animal's overall health and
reproduction. Cattle temperament is defined as "the consistent behavioral and
physiological difference observed between individuals in response to a stressor or
environmental challenge and is used to describe the relatively stable difference in
the behavioral predisposition of an animal, which can be related to
psychobiological mechanisms". Generally, cattle temperament is assumed to be
multidimensional. Five underlying categories of temperament traits have been
proposed:

shyness–boldness

exploration–avoidance

activity

aggressiveness

sociabilityIn a study on Holstein–Friesian heifers learning to press a panel to

open a gate for access to a food reward, the researchers also recorded the heart
rate and behavior of the heifers when moving along the race towards the food. When
the heifers made clear improvements in learning, they had higher heart rates and
tended to move more vigorously along the race. The researchers concluded this was
an indication that cattle may react emotionally to their own learning
improvement.Negative emotional states are associated with a bias toward negative
responses towards ambiguous cues in judgement tasks. After separation from their
mothers, Holstein calves showed such a cognitive bias indicative of low mood. A
similar study showed that after hot-iron disbudding (dehorning), calves had a
similar negative bias indicating that post-operative pain following this routine
procedure results in a negative change in emotional state.In studies of visual
discrimination, the position of the ears has been used as an indicator of emotional
state. When cattle are stressed other cattle can tell by the chemicals released in
their urine.Cattle are very gregarious and even short-term isolation is considered
to cause severe psychological stress. When Aubrac and Friesian heifers are
isolated, they increase their vocalizations and experience increased heart rate and
plasma cortisol concentrations. These physiological changes are greater in Aubracs.
When visual contact is re-instated, vocalizations rapidly decline, regardless of
the familiarity of the returning cattle, however, heart rate decreases are greater
if the returning cattle are familiar to the previously-isolated individual. Mirrors
have been used to reduce stress in isolated cattle.

Senses
Cattle use all of the five widely recognized sensory modalities. These can assist
in some complex behavioural patterns, for example, in grazing behaviour. Cattle eat
mixed diets, but when given the opportunity, show a partial preference of
approximately 70% clover and 30% grass. This preference has a diurnal pattern, with
a stronger preference for clover in the morning, and the proportion of grass
increasing towards the evening.

Vision
Vision is the dominant sense in cattle and they obtain almost 50% of their
information visually.

Cattle are a prey animal and to assist predator detection, their eyes are located
on the sides of their head rather than the front. This gives them a wide field of
view of 330° but limits binocular vision (and therefore stereopsis) to 30° to 50°
compared to 140° in humans. This means they have a blind spot directly behind them.
Cattle have good visual acuity, but compared to humans, their visual accommodation
is poor.Cattle have two kinds of color receptors in the cone cells of their
retinas. This means that cattle are dichromatic, as are most other non-primate land
mammals. There are two to three rods per cone in the fovea centralis but five to
six near the optic papilla. Cattle can distinguish long wavelength colors (yellow,
orange and red) much better than the shorter wavelengths (blue, grey and green).
Calves are able to discriminate between long (red) and short (blue) or medium
(green) wavelengths, but have limited ability to discriminate between the short and
medium. They also approach handlers more quickly under red light. Whilst having
good color sensitivity, it is not as good as humans or sheep.A common misconception
about cattle (particularly bulls) is that they are enraged by the color red
(something provocative is often said to be "like a red flag to a bull"). This is a
myth. In bullfighting, it is the movement of the red flag or cape that irritates
the bull and incites it to charge.

Taste
Cattle have a well-developed sense of taste and can distinguish the four primary
tastes (sweet, salty, bitter and sour). They possess around 20,000 taste buds. The
strength of taste perception depends on the individual's current food requirements.
They avoid bitter-tasting foods (potentially toxic) and have a marked preference
for sweet (high calorific value) and salty foods (electrolyte balance). Their
sensitivity to sour-tasting foods helps them to maintain optimal ruminal pH.Plants
have low levels of sodium and cattle have developed the capacity of seeking salt by
taste and smell. If cattle become depleted of sodium salts, they show increased
locomotion directed to searching for these. To assist in their search, the
olfactory and gustatory receptors able to detect minute amounts of sodium salts
increase their sensitivity as biochemical disruption develops with sodium salt
depletion.

Hearing
Cattle hearing ranges from 23 Hz to 35 kHz. Their frequency of best sensitivity is
8 kHz and they have a lowest threshold of −21 db (re 20 μN/m−2), which means their
hearing is more acute than horses (lowest threshold of 7 db). Sound localization
acuity thresholds are an average of 30°. This means that cattle are less able to
localise sounds compared to goats (18°), dogs (8°) and humans (0.8°). Because
cattle have a broad foveal fields of view covering almost the entire horizon, they
may not need very accurate locus information from their auditory systems to direct
their gaze to a sound source.

Vocalizations are an important mode of communication amongst cattle and can provide
information on the age, sex, dominance status and reproductive status of the
caller. Calves can recognize their mothers using vocalizations; vocal behaviour may
play a role by indicating estrus and competitive display by bulls.

Olfaction and gustation

Cattle have a range of odiferous glands over their body including interdigital,
infraorbital, inguinal and sebaceous glands, indicating that olfaction probably
plays a large role in their social life. Both the primary olfactory system using
the olfactory bulbs, and the secondary olfactory system using the vomeronasal organ
are used. This latter olfactory system is used in the flehmen response. There is
evidence that when cattle are stressed, this can be recognised by other cattle and
this is communicated by alarm substances in the urine. The odour of dog faeces
induces behavioural changes prior to cattle feeding, whereas the odours of urine
from either stressed or non-stressed conspecifics and blood have no effect.In the
laboratory, cattle can be trained to recognise conspecific individuals using
olfaction only.In general, cattle use their sense of smell to "expand" on
information detected by other sensory modalities. However, in the case of social
and reproductive behaviours, olfaction is a key source of information.

Touch
Cattle have tactile sensations detected mainly by mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors
and nociceptors in the skin and muscles. These are used most frequently when cattle
explore their environment.
Magnetoreception
There is conflicting evidence for magnetoreception in cattle. One study reported
that resting and grazing cattle tend to align their body axes in the geomagnetic
north–south direction. In a follow-up study, cattle exposed to various magnetic
fields directly beneath or in the vicinity of power lines trending in various
magnetic directions exhibited distinct patterns of alignment. However, in 2011, a
group of Czech researchers reported their failed attempt to replicate the finding
using Google Earth images.

Behavior
Under natural conditions, calves stay with their mother until weaning at 8 to 11
months. Heifer and bull calves are equally attached to their mothers in the first
few months of life. Cattle are considered to be "hider" type animals, utilizing
secluded areas more in the hours before calving and continued to use it more for
the hour after calving. Cows that gave birth for the first time show a higher
incidence of abnormal maternal behavior.

In one study, beef-calves reared on the range were observed to suckle an average of
5.0 times every 24 hours with an average total time of 46 min spent suckling. There
was a diurnal rhythm in suckling activity with peaks between 05:00–07:00, 10:00–
13:00 and 17:00–21:00.

Reproductive behavior
Semi-wild Highland cattle heifers first give birth at 2 or 3 years of age, and the
timing of birth is synchronized with increases in natural food quality. Average
calving interval is 391 days, and calving mortality within the first year of life
is 5%.

Dominance and leadership

One study showed that over a 4-year period, dominance relationships within a herd
of semi-wild highland cattle were very firm. There were few overt aggressive
conflicts and the majority of disputes were settled by agonistic (non-aggressive,
competitive) behaviors that involved no physical contact between opponents (e.g.
threatening and spontaneous withdrawing). Such agonistic behavior reduces the risk
of injury. Dominance status depended on age and sex, with older animals generally
being dominant to young ones and males dominant to females. Young bulls gained
superior dominance status over adult cows when they reached about 2 years of age.As
with many animal dominance hierarchies, dominance-associated aggressiveness does
not correlate with rank position, but is closely related to rank distance between
individuals.Dominance is maintained in several ways. Cattle often engage in mock
fights where they test each other's strength in a non-aggressive way. Licking is
primarily performed by subordinates and received by dominant animals. Mounting is a
playful behavior shown by calves of both sexes and by bulls and sometimes by cows
in estrus, however, this is not a dominance related behavior as has been found in
other species.The horns of cattle are "honest signals" used in mate selection.
Furthermore, horned cattle attempt to keep greater distances between themselves and
have fewer physical interactions than hornless cattle. This leads to more stable
social relationships.In calves, the frequency of agonistic behavior decreases as
space allowance increases, but this does not occur for changes in group size.
However, in adult cattle, the number of agonistic encounters increases as the group
size increases.

Grazing behavior
When grazing, cattle vary several aspects of their bite, i.e. tongue and jaw
movements, depending on characteristics of the plant they are eating. Bite area
decreases with the density of the plants but increases with their height. Bite area
is determined by the sweep of the tongue; in one study observing 750-kilogram
(1,650 lb) steers, bite area reached a maximum of approximately 170 cm2 (30 sq in).
Bite depth increases with the height of the plants. By adjusting their behavior,
cattle obtain heavier bites in swards that are tall and sparse compared with short,
dense swards of equal mass/area. Cattle adjust other aspects of their grazing
behavior in relation to the available food; foraging velocity decreases and intake
rate increases in areas of abundant palatable forage.Cattle avoid grazing areas
contaminated by the faeces of other cattle more strongly than they avoid areas
contaminated by sheep, but they do not avoid pasture contaminated by rabbit faeces.

Genetics
On 24 April 2009, edition of the journal Science, a team of researchers led by the
National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Agriculture reported having
mapped the bovine genome. The scientists found cattle have about 22,000 genes, and
80% of their genes are shared with humans, and they share about 1000 genes with
dogs and rodents, but are not found in humans. Using this bovine "HapMap",
researchers can track the differences between the breeds that affect the quality of
meat and milk yields.Behavioral traits of cattle can be as heritable as some
production traits, and often, the two can be related. The heritability of fear
varies markedly in cattle from low (0.1) to high (0.53); such high variation is
also found in pigs and sheep, probably due to differences in the methods used. The
heritability of temperament (response to isolation during handling) has been
calculated as 0.36 and 0.46 for habituation to handling. Rangeland assessments show
that the heritability of aggressiveness in cattle is around 0.36.Quantitative trait
loci (QTLs) have been found for a range of production and behavioral
characteristics for both dairy and beef cattle.

Domestication and husbandry

Cattle occupy a unique role in human history, having been domesticated since at
least the early neolithic age.

Archaeozoological and genetic data indicate that cattle were first domesticated
from wild aurochs (Bos primigenius) approximately 10,500 years ago. There were two
major areas of domestication: one in the Near East (specifically central Anatolia,
the Levant and Western Iran), giving rise to the taurine line, and a second in the
area that is now Pakistan, resulting in the indicine line. Modern mitochondrial DNA
variation indicates the taurine line may have arisen from as few as 80 aurochs
tamed in the upper reaches of Mesopotamia near the villages of Çayönü Tepesi in
what is now southeastern Turkey and Dja'de el-Mughara in what is now northern
Syria.Although European cattle are largely descended from the taurine lineage, gene
flow from African cattle (partially of indicine origin) contributed substantial
genomic components to both southern European cattle breeds and their New World
descendants. A study on 134 breeds showed that modern taurine cattle originated
from Africa, Asia, North and South America, Australia, and Europe. Some researchers
have suggested that African taurine cattle are derived from a third independent
domestication from North African aurochsen.

Usage as money
As early as 9000 BC both grain and cattle were used as money or as barter (the
first grain remains found, considered to be evidence of pre-agricultural practice
date to 17,000 BC). Some evidence also exists to suggest that other animals, such
as camels and goats, may have been used as currency in some parts of the world. One
of the advantages of using cattle as currency is that it allows the seller to set a
fixed price. It even created the standard pricing. For example, two chickens were
traded for one cow as cows were deemed to be more valuable than chickens.

Modern husbandry
Cattle are often raised by allowing herds to graze on the grasses of large tracts
of rangeland. Raising cattle in this manner allows the use of land that might be
unsuitable for growing crops. The most common interactions with cattle involve
daily feeding, cleaning and milking. Many routine husbandry practices involve ear
tagging, dehorning, loading, medical operations, artificial insemination,
vaccinations and hoof care, as well as training for agricultural shows and
preparations. Also, some cultural differences occur in working with cattle; the
cattle husbandry of Fulani men rests on behavioural techniques, whereas in Europe,
cattle are controlled primarily by physical means, such as fences. Breeders use
cattle husbandry to reduce M. bovis infection susceptibility by selective breeding
and maintaining herd health to avoid concurrent disease.Cattle are farmed for beef,
veal, dairy, and leather. They are less commonly used for conservation grazing, or
simply to maintain grassland for wildlife, such as in Epping Forest, England. They
are often used in some of the most wild places for livestock. Depending on the
breed, cattle can survive on hill grazing, heaths, marshes, moors and semidesert.
Modern cattle are more commercial than older breeds and, having become more
specialized, are less versatile. For this reason, many smaller farmers still favor
old breeds, such as the Jersey dairy breed.

In Portugal, Spain, southern France and some Latin American countries, bulls are
used in the activity of bullfighting; In many other countries bullfighting is
illegal. Other activities such as bull riding are seen as part of a rodeo,
especially in North America. Bull-leaping, a central ritual in Bronze Age Minoan
culture (see Sacred Bull), still exists in southwestern France. In modern times,
cattle are also entered into agricultural competitions. These competitions can
involve live cattle or cattle carcases in hoof and hook events.

In terms of food intake by humans, consumption of cattle is less efficient than of

grain or vegetables with regard to land use, and hence cattle grazing consumes more
area than such other agricultural production when raised on grains. Nonetheless,
cattle and other forms of domesticated animals can sometimes help to use plant
resources in areas not easily amenable to other forms of agriculture.

Bulls are sometimes used as guard animals. In occasional cases, cattle are kept as
pets, and pet cows often have sweet temperaments, enjoying being petted and
"kissing" (licking) their owners. But there are costs to keeping them as pets that
limit how many people can practically do so; not everyone has space or facilities
for a large-animal pet, and some amount of resources are needed to keep one
humanely (such as pasture, hay, feed, water, and large-animal veterinary care). In
addition, because livestock animals are gregarious, they need at least one
companion to avoid being stressed or lonely, so keeping bovine, caprine, or ovine
pets requires more than one animal. Most pet cows live on farms that have other
livestock anyway, as the marginal cost of one or two more animals is then not very
large. Farmers have traditionally often been averse to making pets out of
livestock, on the principle that each animal must pay its way somehow if the farm
is to survive financially, and also because there are sufficient opportunities for
moments of petting and animal appreciation among the herd anyway, even when none of
them are pets per se.

Sleep
The average sleep time of a domestic cow is about 4 hours a day. Cattle do have a
stay apparatus, but do not sleep standing up; they lie down to sleep deeply. In
spite of the urban legend, cows cannot be tipped over by people pushing on them.

Economy
The meat of adult cattle is known as beef, and that of calves is veal. Other animal
parts are also used as food products, including blood, liver, kidney, heart and
oxtail. Cattle also produce milk, and dairy cattle are specifically bred to produce
the large quantities of milk processed and sold for human consumption. Cattle today
are the basis of a multibillion-dollar industry worldwide. The international trade
in beef for 2000 was over $30 billion and represented only 23% of world beef
production. Approximately 300 million cattle, including dairy cattle, are
slaughtered each year for food. The production of milk, which is also made into
cheese, butter, yogurt, and other dairy products, is comparable in economic size to
beef production, and provides an important part of the food supply for many of the
world's people. Cattle hides, used for leather to make shoes, couches and clothing,
are another widespread product. Cattle remain broadly used as draft animals in many
developing countries, such as India. Cattle are also used in some sporting games,
including rodeo and bullfighting.

Cattle meat production

Source: Helgi Library, World Bank, FAOSTAT

About half the world's meat comes from cattle.

Dairy
Certain breeds of cattle, such as the Holstein-Friesian, are used to produce milk,
which can be processed into dairy products such as milk, cheese or yogurt. Dairy
cattle are usually kept on specialized dairy farms designed for milk production.
Most cows are milked twice per day, with milk processed at a dairy, which may be
onsite at the farm or the milk may be shipped to a dairy plant for eventual sale of
a dairy product. Lactation is induced in heifers and spayed cows by a combination
of physical and psychological stimulation, by drugs, or by a combination of those
methods. For mother cows to continue producing milk, they give birth to one calf
per year. If the calf is male, it generally is slaughtered at a young age to
produce veal. They will continue to produce milk until three weeks before birth.
Over the last fifty years, dairy farming has become more intensive to increase the
yield of milk produced by each cow. The Holstein-Friesian is the breed of dairy cow
most common in the UK, Europe and the United States. It has been bred selectively
to produce the highest yields of milk of any cow. Around 22 litres per day is
average in the UK.

Hides
Most cattle are not kept solely for hides, which are usually a by-product of beef
production. Hides are most commonly used for leather, which can be made into a
variety of products, including shoes. In 2012 India was the world's largest
producer of cattle hides.

Feral cattle
Feral cattle are defined as being 'cattle that are not domesticated or cultivated'.
Populations of feral cattle are known to come from and exist in: Australia, United
States of America, Colombia, Argentina, Spain, France and many islands, including
New Guinea, Hawaii, Galapagos, Juan Fernández Islands, Hispaniola (Dominican
Republic and Haiti), Tristan da Cunha and Île Amsterdam, two islands of
Kuchinoshima and Kazura Island next to Naru Island in Japan. Chillingham cattle is
sometimes regarded as a feral breed. Aleutian wild cattles can be found on Aleutian
Islands. The "Kinmen cattle" which are dominantly found on Kinmen Island, Taiwan is
mostly domesticated while smaller portion of the population is believed to live in
the wild due to accidental releases.Other notable examples include cattle in the
vicinity of Hong Kong (in the Shing Mun Country Park, among Sai Kung District and
Lantau Island and on Grass Island), and semi-feral animals in Yangmingshan, Taiwan.

Environmental impact
Gut flora in cattle include methanogens that produce methane as a byproduct of
enteric fermentation, which cattle belch out. The same volume of atmospheric
methane has a 72x higher (over 20 years) global warming potential than atmospheric
carbon dioxide. Methane belching from cattle can be reduced with genetic selection,
immunization against the many methanogens, rumen defaunation (killing the bacteria-
killing protozoa), diet modification (e.g. seaweed fortification), decreased
antibiotic use, and grazing management, among others.A 2013 report from the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) based on 2005 data states that the livestock
sector is responsible for 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions, 65% of which is due to
cattle. The IPCC estimates that cattle and other livestock emit about 80 to 93
Megatonnes of methane per year, accounting for an estimated 37% of anthropogenic
methane emissions, and additional methane is produced by anaerobic fermentation of
manure in manure lagoons and other manure storage structures. Another estimate is
12% of global GHG. While cattle fed forage actually produce more methane than
grain-fed cattle, the increase may be offset by the increased carbon recapture of
pastures, which recapture three times the CO2 of cropland used for grain.One of the
cited changes suggested to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is intensification of
the livestock industry, since intensification leads to less land for a given level
of production. This assertion is supported by studies of the US beef production
system, suggesting practices prevailing in 2007 involved 8.6% less fossil fuel use,
16.3% less greenhouse gas emissions, 12.1% less water use, and 33.0% less land use,
per unit mass of beef produced, than those used in 1977. The analysis took into
account not only practices in feedlots, but also feed production (with less feed
needed in more intensive production systems), forage-based cow-calf operations and
back-grounding before cattle enter a feedlot (with more beef produced per head of
cattle from those sources, in more intensive systems), and beef from animals
derived from the dairy industry.

The number of American cattle kept in confined feedlot conditions fluctuates. From
1 January 2002 through 1 January 2012, there was no significant overall upward or
downward trend in the number of US cattle on feed for slaughter, which averaged
about 14.046 million head over that period. Previously, the number had increased;
it was 12.453 million in 1985. Cattle on feed (for slaughter) numbered about 14.121
million on 1 January 2012, i.e. about 15.5% of the estimated inventory of 90.8
million US cattle (including calves) on that date. Of the 14.121 million, US cattle
on feed (for slaughter) in operations with 1000 head or more were estimated to
number 11.9 million. Cattle feedlots in this size category correspond to the
regulatory definition of "large" concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) for
cattle other than mature dairy cows or veal calves. Significant numbers of dairy,
as well as beef cattle, are confined in CAFOs, defined as "new and existing
operations which stable or confine and feed or maintain for a total of 45 days or
more in any 12-month period more than the number of animals specified" where
"[c]rops, vegetation, forage growth, or post-harvest residues are not sustained in
the normal growing season over any portion of the lot or facility." They may be
designated as small, medium and large. Such designation of cattle CAFOs is
according to cattle type (mature dairy cows, veal calves or other) and cattle
numbers, but medium CAFOs are so designated only if they meet certain discharge
criteria, and small CAFOs are designated only on a case-by-case basis.A CAFO that
discharges pollutants is required to obtain a permit, which requires a plan to
manage nutrient runoff, manure, chemicals, contaminants, and other wastewater
pursuant to the US Clean Water Act. The regulations involving CAFO permitting have
been extensively litigated.

Commonly, CAFO wastewater and manure nutrients are applied to land at agronomic
rates for use by forages or crops, and it is often assumed that various
constituents of wastewater and manure, e.g. organic contaminants and pathogens,
will be retained, inactivated or degraded on the land with application at such
rates; however, additional evidence is needed to test reliability of such
assumptions

. Concerns raised by opponents of CAFOs have included risks of contaminated water

due to feedlot runoff, soil erosion, human and animal exposure to toxic chemicals,
development of antibiotic resistant bacteria and an increase in E. coli
contamination. While research suggests some of these impacts can be mitigated by
developing wastewater treatment systems and planting cover crops in larger setback
zones, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a report in 2008 concluding that
CAFOs are generally unsustainable and externalize costs.An estimated 935,000 cattle
operations were operating in the US in 2010. In 2001, the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) tallied 5,990 cattle CAFOs then regulated, consisting of
beef (2,200), dairy (3,150), heifer (620) and veal operations (20). Since that
time, the EPA has established CAFOs as an enforcement priority. EPA enforcement
highlights for fiscal year 2010 indicated enforcement actions against 12 cattle
CAFOs for violations that included failures to obtain a permit, failures to meet
the terms of a permit, and discharges of contaminated water.

Another concern is manure, which if not well-managed, can lead to adverse

environmental consequences. However, manure also is a valuable source of nutrients
and organic matter when used as a fertilizer. Manure was used as a fertilizer on
about 6,400,000 hectares (15.8 million acres) of US cropland in 2006, with manure
from cattle accounting for nearly 70% of manure applications to soybeans and about
80% or more of manure applications to corn, wheat, barley, oats and sorghum.
Substitution of manure for synthetic fertilizers in crop production can be
environmentally significant, as between 43 and 88 megajoules of fossil fuel energy
would be used per kg of nitrogen in manufacture of synthetic nitrogenous
fertilizers.Grazing by cattle at low intensities can create a favourable
environment for native herbs and forbs by mimicking the native grazers who they
displaced; in many world regions, though, cattle are reducing biodiversity due to
overgrazing. A survey of refuge managers on 123 National Wildlife Refuges in the US
tallied 86 species of wildlife considered positively affected and 82 considered
negatively affected by refuge cattle grazing or haying. Proper management of
pastures, notably managed intensive rotational grazing and grazing at low
intensities can lead to less use of fossil fuel energy, increased recapture of
carbon dioxide, fewer ammonia emissions into the atmosphere, reduced soil erosion,
better air quality, and less water pollution.

Health
The veterinary discipline dealing with cattle and cattle diseases (bovine
veterinary) is called buiatrics. Veterinarians and professionals working on cattle
health issues are pooled in the World Association for Buiatrics, founded in 1960.
National associations and affiliates also exist.Cattle diseases were in the center
of attention in the 1980s and 1990s when the Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE), also known as mad cow disease, was of concern. Cattle might catch and
develop various other diseases, like blackleg, bluetongue, foot rot too.In most
states, as cattle health is not only a veterinarian issue, but also a public health
issue, public health and food safety standards and farming regulations directly
affect the daily work of farmers who keep cattle. However, said rules change
frequently and are often debated. For instance, in the U.K., it was proposed in
2011 that milk from tuberculosis-infected cattle should be allowed to enter the
food chain. Internal food safety regulations might affect a country's trade policy
as well. For example, the United States has just reviewed its beef import rules
according to the "mad cow standards"; while Mexico forbids the entry of cattle who
are older than 30 months.Cow urine is commonly used in India for internal medical
purposes. It is distilled and then consumed by patients seeking treatment for a
wide variety of illnesses. At present, no conclusive medical evidence shows this
has any effect. However, an Indian medicine containing cow urine has already
obtained U.S. patents.Digital dermatitis is caused by the bacteria from the genus
Treponema. It differs from foot rot and can appear under unsanitary conditions such
as poor hygiene or inadequate hoof trimming, among other causes. It primarily
affects dairy cattle and has been known to lower the quantity of milk produced,
however the milk quality remains unaffected. Cattle are also susceptible to
ringworm caused by the fungus, Trichophyton verrucosum, a contagious skin disease
which may be transferred to humans exposed to infected cows.

Effect of high stocking density

Stocking density refers to the number of animals within a specified area. When
stocking density reaches high levels, the behavioural needs of the animals may not
be met. This can negatively influence health, welfare and production
performance.The effect of overstocking in cows can have a negative effect on milk
production and reproduction rates which are two very important traits for dairy
farmers. Overcrowding of cows in barns has been found to reduced feeding, resting
and rumination. Although they consume the same amount of dry matter within the span
of a day, they consume the food at a much more rapid rate, and this behaviour in
cows can lead to further complications. The feeding behaviour of cows during their
post-milking period is very important as it has been proven that the longer animals
can eat after milking, the longer they will be standing up and therefore causing
less contamination to the teat ends. This is necessary to reduce the risk of
mastitis as infection has been shown to increase the chances of embryonic loss.
Sufficient rest is important for dairy cows because it is during this period that
their resting blood flow increases up to 50%, this is directly proportionate to
milk production. Each additional hour of rest can be seen to translate to 2 to 3.5
more pounds of milk per cow daily. Stocking densities of anything over 120% have
been shown to decrease the amount of time cows spend lying down.Cortisol is an
important stress hormone; its plasma concentrations increase greatly when subjected
to high levels of stress. Increased concentration levels of cortisol have been
associated with significant increases in gonadotrophin levels and lowered progestin
levels. Reduction of stress is important in the reproductive state of cows as an
increase in gonadotrophin and lowered progesterone levels may impinge on the
ovulatory and lutenization process and to reduce the chances of successful
implantation. A high cortisol level will also stimulate the degradation of fats and
proteins which may make it difficult for the animal to sustain its pregnancy if
implanted successfully.

Animal welfare concerns

Animal rights activists have criticized the treatment of cattle, claiming that
common practices in cattle husbandry, slaughter and entertainment unnecessarily
cause fear, stress, and pain. They advocate for abstaining from the consumption of
cattle-related animal products and cattle-based entertainment.

Livestock industry
The following husbandry practices have been criticized by animal welfare and animal
rights groups: branding, castration, dehorning, ear tagging, nose ringing,
restraint, tail docking, the use of veal crates, and cattle prods. There are
concerns that the stress and negative health impacts induced by high stocking
density such as in concentrated animal feeding operations or feedlots, auctions,
and during transport may be detrimental to their welfare, and has also been
criticized.The treatment of dairy cows faces additional criticism. To produce milk
from dairy cattle, most calves are separated from their mothers soon after birth
and fed milk replacement in order to retain the cows' milk for human consumption.
Animal welfare advocates are critical of this practice, stating that this breaks
the natural bond between the mother and her calf. The welfare of veal calves is
also a concern. In order to continue lactation, dairy cows are bred every year,
usually through artificial insemination. Because of this, some individuals have
posited that dairy production is based on the sexual exploitation of cows. Although
the natural life expectancy of cattle could be as much as twenty years, after about
five years, a cow's milk production has dropped; at which point most dairy cows are
sent to slaughter.

Leather
While leather is often a by-product of slaughter, in some countries, such as India
and Bangladesh, cows are raised primarily for their leather. These leather
industries often make their cows walk long distances across borders to be killed in
neighboring provinces and countries where cattle slaughter is legal. Some cows die
along the long journey, and sometimes exhausted animals are abused to keep them
moving. These practices have faced backlash from various animal rights groups.

Sport
Animal treatment in rodeo is targeted most often at bull riding but also calf
roping and steer roping, with the opposition saying that rodeos are unnecessary and
cause stress, injury, and death to the animals. In Spain, the Running of the bulls
faces opposition due to the stress and injuries incurred by the bulls during the
event. Bullfighting is opposed as a blood sport in which bulls are forced to suffer
severe stress and death.

Oxen
Oxen (singular ox) are cattle trained as draft animals. Often they are adult,
castrated males of larger breeds, although females and bulls are also used in some
areas. Usually, an ox is over four years old due to the need for training and to
allow it to grow to full size. Oxen are used for plowing, transport, hauling cargo,
grain-grinding by trampling or by powering machines, irrigation by powering pumps,
and wagon drawing. Oxen were commonly used to skid logs in forests, and sometimes
still are, in low-impact, select-cut logging. Oxen are most often used in teams of
two, paired, for light work such as carting, with additional pairs added when more
power is required, sometimes up to a total of 20 or more.

Oxen can be trained to respond to a teamster's signals. These signals are given by
verbal commands or by noise (whip cracks). Verbal commands vary according to
dialect and local tradition. Oxen can pull harder and longer than horses. Though
not as fast as horses, they are less prone to injury because they are more sure-
footed.

Many oxen are used worldwide, especially in developing countries. About 11.3
million draft oxen are used in sub-Saharan Africa. In India, the number of draft
cattle in 1998 was estimated at 65.7 million head. About half the world's crop
production is thought to depend on land preparation (such as plowing) made possible
by animal traction.

Religion, traditions and folklore

Islamic traditions
The cow is mentioned often in the Quran. The second and longest surah of the Quran
is named Al-Baqara ("The Cow"). Out of the 286 verses of the surah, seven mention
cows (Al Baqarah 67–73). The name of the surah derives from this passage in which
Moses orders his people to sacrifice a cow in order to resurrect a man murdered by
an unknown person.

Hindu traditions
Veneration of the cow has become a symbol of the identity of Hindus as a
community,: 
20  especially since the end of the 19th century. Slaughter of cows
(including oxen, bulls and calves) is forbidden by law in several states of the
Indian Union. McDonald's outlets in India do not serve any beef burgers. In
Maharaja Ranjit Singh's empire of the early 19th century, the killing of a cow was
punishable by death.

Other traditions
The Evangelist St. Luke is depicted as an ox in Christian art.

In Judaism, as described in Numbers 19:2, the ashes of a sacrificed unblemished red

heifer that has never been yoked can be used for ritual purification of people who
came into contact with a corpse.

The ox is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac
related to the Chinese calendar. See: Ox (Zodiac).

The constellation Taurus represents a bull.

An apocryphal story has it that a cow started the Great Chicago Fire by kicking
over a kerosene lamp. Michael Ahern, the reporter who created the cow story,
admitted in 1893 that he had fabricated it for more colorful copy.

On 18 February 1930, Elm Farm Ollie became the first cow to fly in an airplane and
also the first cow to be milked in an airplane.

The first known law requiring branding in North America was enacted on 5 February
1644, by Connecticut. It said that all cattle and pigs had to have a registered
brand or earmark by 1 May 1644.

The akabeko (赤べこ, red cow) is a traditional toy from the Aizu region of Japan
that is thought to ward off illness.

The case of Sherwood v. Walker—involving a supposedly barren heifer that was

actually pregnant—first enunciated the concept of mutual mistake as a means of
destroying the meeting of the minds in contract law.

The Fulani of West Africa are the world's largest nomadic cattle-herders.

The Maasai tribe of East Africa traditionally believe their god Engai entitled them
to divine rights to the ownership of all cattle on earth.

In heraldry
Cattle are typically represented in heraldry by the bull.

Population
The cattle population of Britain rose from 9.8 million in 1878 to 11.7 million in
1908, but beef consumption rose much faster. Britain became the "stud farm of the
world" exporting livestock to countries where there were no indigenous cattle. In
1929 80% of the meat trade of the world was products of what were originally
English breeds. There were nearly 70 million cattle in the USA by the early
1930s.For 2013, the FAO estimated global cattle numbers at 1.47 billion.
Regionally, the FAO estimate for 2013 includes: Asia 497 million; South America 350
million; Africa 307 million; Europe 122 million; North America 102 million; Central
America 47 million; Oceania 40 million; and Caribbean 9 million.

As per FAS/USDA 2021 data, India had the largest cattle inventory in the world in
2021 followed by Brazil and ChinaIndia's cattle's inventory was reported at 305.5
million head in 2021, accounting for roughly 30% of the world's inventory.

India, Brazil and China accounted for roughly 65% of the world's cattle inventory
in 2021.

Gallery
See also
References
Further reading