Tag cow

Cow facts and fallacies – standing, laying down, walking

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Here are some facts and fallacies about the cow – standing, laying down, and walking.  

Standing: A cow sleeps while standing up.

A cow often closes its eyes to rest while standing up, but it sleeps laying down on its side or on its stomach. A cow is a domestic animal, not a wild animal, and it does not need to quickly escape its predators. It dozes several times throughout the day for 7-14 hours, but The Cattle Site says it actually sleeps for only about 3 hours per day, but not all at once. 

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Lowland Anoa

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The Lowland Anoa (Bubalus depressicornis) is an endangered ungulate (hoofed) bovid species of wild cattle in the water buffalo family. It is also known as the Midget Buffalo. Another species of the Midget Buffalo is the Mountain Anoa (Bubalus quarlesi). It is related to the Asian Water Buffalo. 

The Lowland Anoa is similar in appearance to a miniature Asian Water Buffalo. It has a strong body with brown-black fur. The male is darker in colour than the female. It has short upright horns. The female has shorter horns than the male.

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Brahman Cattle

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Brahman Cattle (Bos indicus) are a medium-sized breed of Zebu cattle. They are ungulate (hoofed) bovine mammals. For domestic use, they are livestock for dairy products, such as milk, cream, cheese and butter. They are also called Humped Cattle.

The Brahman is a distinctive-looking cattle breed with large upward-curved horns. It has a large hump over its shoulder and neck, very large ears, and loose skin (called dewlap) around its throat and underbelly. It is varied in colour, from light grey to sandy-coloured or creamy-white. Its short fur is thicker in winter.

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African Elephant

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The African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest land mammal on Earth.

The African Elephant has grey, almost hairless, wrinkled skin over its massive body. Its nose is a long trunk, its ears are large fan-like flaps, and its tail is short with a tuft of dark hair at the end. It has small dark eyes, a small mouth, and large forward and upturned ivory tusks. Both males and females have tusks, but female tusks are smaller.

Its legs are thick with large pads for feet. Its front feet have a round sole, and the hind (back) feet have an oval-shaped sole.

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Cow and Yak: what’s the difference?

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What’s the difference between a cow and a yak?

The domestic Yak (Bos grunniens) is similar to domestic cattle, such as cows and bulls (Bos taurus or Bos primegenius).

They are both bovids or bovines.

They are both mammals with udders (that provide milk for their calves).

They both eat grass – they are herbivorous grazers.

They are both ungulates – they both have cloven hooves.

The domestic Yak grunts, whereas domestic cattle moo.

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Yak

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The Domestic Yak (Bos grunniens) and the Wild Yak (Bos mutus) are large, long-haired, ungulate mammals in the Bovidae family of bovines, similar to cattle and bison. It is a bovid. The species, Bos grunniens, means grunting ox, and the species, Bos mutus, means mute (silent) ox. The Yak, like a cow, is an ungulate because it has cloven hooves.

The Wild Yak is black or dark brown, whereas the Domestic Yak can be rust-brown, grey, and cream. The Yak has small ears and a wide forehead, with smooth dark-coloured horns. It has a short neck with humped shoulders. The male, called a bull, has horns that extend from the sides of its head and curve forward. The female, called a cow, has smaller horns that are more upright. The tail is long and looks like a horse’s tail (long and hairy) instead of a cow’s tail (with a tuft of hair at the end).

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