Public domain · Buenoperez · source
Quick Facts
- Type
- Mammal
- Size
- 1.2–1.5 m at shoulder
- Weight
- 400–900 kg
- Habitat
- Grassland, pasture, and farmland worldwide
- Diet
- Herbivore — grass, hay, grain
- Active Time
- Diurnal, grazing during daylight
- Lifespan
- 18–22 years
Field Notes
- Cattle can recognise up to 100 other individuals and form long-term social bonds.
- A single dairy cow produces on average 8,500 litres of milk per year.
- The word 'cattle' once meant any moveable property — only later did it narrow to mean bovines.
About the Domestic Cattle
Domestic cattle (Bos taurus) are descended from the now-extinct aurochs and were first domesticated about 10,500 years ago in the Near East. Today they are the most numerous large mammals on Earth, numbering approximately one billion. Cattle are ruminants with a four-chambered stomach, enabling them to digest tough grasses by fermenting feed in the rumen before re-chewing it as cud. They provide milk, beef, leather, and draft power across the world and have profoundly shaped human agriculture.
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