Cow

Cow is used to females, while intact males are called bulls. The offspring, until they are weaned, are called calves.

Cows are present in the human’s life since the early Neolithic, over 10 thousand years ago. Interacting with a cow involves daily feeding, cleaning and medical care and milking. Cows are usually raised in areas not suited for agriculture, since they need a lot of space for grazing.

In India, cows are considered sacred and their meat isn’t used in any cooking recipe.

According to a UN report, cows are responsible for the production of 18% of greenhouse gases.

A common misconception created by bullfights is that bulls respond to red with rage. However, cows and bulls aren’t capable of seeing the colors red or green. What makes them attack in bullfights is the movement created by the cape.

Cows are social animals that live in herds. They maintain a hierarchy that stipulates that each cow yields to the one above in the hierarchy. Calves gain the mothers position in the hierarchy.

Females are peaceful animals, but they get very protective when they have offspring to take care of. Other cows can help in raising a calve.

Bulls are dominant within the group and they are challenged through fights.

Cows are herbivores. They spend most of the time grazing in pastures. They sleep in proper installations, like horses, where they are milked and sometimes fed.

One cow can eat up to 70 kg of grass per day. As ruminants, they are able to regurgitate the food that wasn’t digested to chew it again and make it ready to be digested. To fully digest food, a cow can take up to 100 hours.

Cows are large animals with a robust body. One cow weights in average 750 kg, although they can be over 1000 kg.

The most famous cows are white with black patches. However, cows can also be brown to a reddish brown.

Cows have dewlaps hanging from the throat and two horns on the head.

Cattle are raised for meat and leather. They are still used in agriculture as draft animals. In some countries cows and castrated males are used as a mean of transportation, whether ridden, whether pulling carts. Cows are stronger than horses, but not as fast.