12 interesting cow facts
1. Cows have a big family
Cows descended from wild aurochs, cattle that lived in Europe and Asia until they became extinct in the 17th century (due to habitat loss from human agriculture, hunting, and competition for resources). Cows are members of the Bovidae family, which includes many other species of ruminants, like bison, sheep, goats, and antelopes.
2. Cows depend on each other
Cows are social creatures who thrive in herds of about 30 individuals. They seek companionship from a young age and develop strong bonds with their herd mates, relying on each other for protection, support, and resource-sharing. For instance, when individuals feel anxious, they seek comfort from their calmer companions, and healthy individuals spend additional time licking and caring for injured and sick herd mates. They have even been observed babysitting other cows' calves, allowing the mothers to graze.
3. Cows are good communicators
Cows employ a range of communication methods, including vocalizations, body language cues, and scents. Vocalizations serve various purposes, with mooing used to express contentment or call a friend, grunting to convey satisfaction, snorting to indicate annoyance, growling when experiencing pain, and bellowing when in distress. Additionally, cows use subtle facial expressions and body language to communicate their emotional state, such as widening their eyes or curling their lips, as well as adjusting the positioning of their head, ears, back, and tail. They also use scent to identify individuals, detect stress hormones, convey their reproductive status, and mark their territory.
4. Cows make milk for their calves
Cows are not naturally gifted milk producers. Like us and all other female mammals, female cows produce milk to nourish their children only when they are pregnant or nursing. To maintain consistently high milk production, we selectively breed them to produce large quantities of milk, artificially inseminate them every year, and separate them from their calves, allowing us to take the milk for ourselves.
5. Cows are good moms
Cows are dedicated mothers, demonstrating their affection for their calves through behaviors such as licking, cleaning, nuzzling, and softly mooing to communicate with them. They also stand as protective barriers, moving between their calves and any threats, as observed in a study where 99% of mother cows moved between an approaching vehicle and their calves.
When we separate mother cows from their calves (to take their milk) they show signs of distress like running after their calves, searching for their calves, pacing and moving around restlessly, bellowing continuously for days, and having a decreased appetite. Many individuals attempt to conceal their calves from humans who have previously separated them from their offspring in prior pregnancies. (Calves also experience significant distress when we separate them from their moms and exhibit less sociability later in life.)
6. Cows have excellent senses
Cows have about 20,000 tastebuds (we have 2,000-8,000) and a complex network of nerves in their nose and mouth, which help them identify nutritious and toxic plants and other dangers in their environment. Cows can hear sounds that are too high for us to hear, and the eyes on the sides of their head give them a field of vision of at least 330 degrees (ours is 200 degrees). They are also sensitive to movement, which helps them quickly identify and respond to potential threats.
7. Cows are ruminants
Cows are ruminants, which means that they have a special digestive system (including a four-chambered stomach) that can digest tough plants, like grass and hay, that other animals can’t. This happens through a process of fermenting and regurgitating so that they can chew their food multiple times to get as many nutrients from it as possible.
8. Cows are intelligent
Cow intelligence can be compared to the intelligence of horses, pigs, elephants, dolphins, and primates. They learn by experiencing the world around them and observing others, passing down knowledge through generations. Cows take pleasure in solving problems, such as navigating complex mazes, and they rely on their memory while following an organized and deliberate approach when foraging for food.
9. Cows are emotional
Like us, cows have emotions. They can feel basic emotions like fear and contentment, and they also experience more complex emotions, such as pessimism, optimism, empathy, and even pride. Cows often display signs of excitement and pleasure when they successfully tackle intellectual challenges.
10. Cows are playful
Cows of all ages enjoy playing. They express their joy by running, kicking, jumping, chasing, and play-fighting with each other. They also have fun playing with toys, such as balls and other objects they can move around with their noses.
11. Cows are individuals
Cows can distinguish between individuals and species, understanding who they are, who other individuals are, and their relationship dynamics with others. Like us, cows form and nurture friendships, often preferring to be with cows who share similar personality traits. Cows can also differentiate between humans, even when they're dressed the same way, and they learn to be wary of people who have treated them harshly in the past.
12. Cows can live 20+ years
The average lifespan of a cow is about 20 years, but some have reached their 40s. (In factory farms, cows raised for meat are usually slaughtered at 1-2 years old, and dairy cows at 3-5 years old.)
