Did ya know that cows were nearly not domesticated?

this is moos to me...

That is an fasinating story of the domestication of the cows! Truly amazing! I am a cow lover! I grew up on a dairy farm so I am not scared of cows! Even though I have been kicked,stepped on,,butted in the back by a heifer who was a brat and even jumped on by another heifer who was in heat! I will always love cows! I just don't love horses! LOL!

I didn't know that! I love cows--they are mostly gentle, intelligent, affectionate and make great pets. My mom used to have one she could ride around the pasture. My grandpa raised pedigree Herefords and ranchers would come clear across the country for his bulls' goodies for their own cows. I have a photo of one bull that we especially liked and keep it in my kitchen where I can see it often. Grandpa taught us to respect their feelings and instincts so that we would not get hurt. That new info makes it all the more amazing that we have more than 250 breeds of cattle around the world!

That's kinda cool to learn but after having so many dogs all my life, I've always thought that most of today's animals came from the same stock, just as humans did if you believe in the creation theory. The variety came from either random mutations or specific breeding. Cows, now, I have no problem with. Right across our private road is a farm with cows, goats, chickens, and recently, a peacock. (Have you ever heard a peacock? They're LOUD and extremely obnoxious! Beautiful, yeah, but....) We've even had a visitor once. One particularly inquisitive cow came a-callin' one day. She eithe broke through the fence or found a broken spot in the fence and apparently couldn't resist the temptation to see what was on the other side. Whatever her reason, she left me such a nice present, a huge pile of, uhh, fertilizer. Hey, it works! Her momma came to get her but I said she could visit anytime she wanted as long as she left at least one pile of her very special fertilizer for my garden. Below is a photo I took of her as her momma was taking her home.

Good for them they voted to get domesticated in their language..othewise they would be extinct by now thanks to their inability to run fast.

i love cows, if we didn't have them we would have no milk, no butter or dairy products and certainly no meat, i have never been scared of cows i find them very calming and peaceful to watch

That is a small amount but then look at human were started by only 2 people so it says. Cows are ok have milked them and love the calves Bulls ya have to realy watch out for

hi ElikcBxn I cannot say I like or love the cows either one. I was brought up on a farm too. I too am a bit afraid of them as some can get mean. I never paled around with them. I loved horses but that is a different story. I sure did not realize that the cows we have today came from such a small herd. wow.I always left the care and m ilking of cows to my dad and my grandad. I wanted nothing to do with that process at all. lol lol I prefer cats myself as pets.

i love them. they are so sweet and docile. even the fighting bulls are taught to be that way, my grandma had one that followed her all over the farm. she could call her name and it would come. she used to tell me all about her. i also have pet them and such at my dads farm.

I have been horse crazy as long as I can rmemeber! I remember we had a pinto pony when I was young who.like alot of ponies,was a snot! He was my sister's pony. We also had a Appy gelding my older brother had. Didn't get my own pony until I was 14! I grew up on a farm and cows were more important then horses! Blacky was a 20 something Welsh/Sheltand cross and he was free! My first horse was at 18 and he was a 3/4 Arab geling named Gaylord. Had him 2 years and he was just to much for me! Then came Major! Major was in my life for just under 27 years! Until I can afford another horse,I hope I can keep feeding at that stable I have worked at for so long and had Major most of his life! I never want to be out of horses!

I think that is interesting - not just the fact that all domesticated cattle are thought to come from only about eighty cattle but also the fact that DNA research has determined this so precisely.

thats something never heard of

Domesticated means that the human being is using the animal for itself (no matter if it's as a pet, for food or so). So it doesn't matter what the herd original comes from or if we changed it into something that looks better, different or is more productive.

I love cows. I grew up where there was a lot of cows. In fact, anyone who did not have a cow in those days was poor. They showed one's wealth. I live in Africa and there's so much we do with cows; we use them to plough in the fields, milk them, eat them. And they are quite pricey...

Being an old "cow" girl, I do have quite a bit of a love affair with these bovines! Cattle ranchers are what we were known as, and life was a lot more simple dealing with 100's of them on a daily basis, than man..OL! We always had 2 to 3 Dairy cows (jersey's for cream products and Holstein's for milk) and several hundred Herefords or HerefordAngus cross...and of course, the calves (as a youngster)were always for entertainment! Much more difficult to ride, as there skin is much looser! Calves, and a competition always ensued, whom could stay on the longest! Good link! Thanks, dear!

I think that they all came from the cows created by God in the beginning. I grew up on a farm, so I can both like and dislike cattle. Once you get to know them, you will realize that they have different personalities, just like people.

I like them but I am like you...I am a little scared of them. They are sooo big. A lady I work with says they can be mean sometimes too. She said one tried to squash her once when she was younger on purpose. Great info on the cows!

It is fascinating. Do you know that by crossing the more primitive cows -- Spanish toro, Scottish highland bulls, etc -- the auroch has been recreated in France in the 1930's -- the last "true" auroch disappeared in Central Europe in the 16th century, but the skeleton of this "new" auroch is the same than the skeleton of a prehistoric auroch -- ? If you want to see at what were looking the first domesticated cows, there is a photo of these cows/aurochs here -- sorry, the article is in French -- : http://1jour1actu.com/france/le_retour_de_lauroch_la_vache_prhistorique/ It is an impressive animal, and, as said in your link, "an incredibly wild beast" difficult to tame for our ancestors. This is staggering to realize that the foundations of our civilization are based on so little. A really emotional article, thank you.

The address that you have given is helpful to know that all domesticated cows are descended from a herd of 80 animals. I have read it, it is really interesting to me. I cannot believe yet that the cows came from a small population. I like the cows. I do not afraid of cows. You should overcome the afraid of cow by staying near about the cow sometimes.