Large domesticated grazers, first tamed from the wild aurochs about 10,500 years ago. Kept for meat, milk and leather and for pulling loads, there were over 940 million cattle in the world in 2022.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?Can be
In a herd, cows with young calves are often more dangerous to people than you might expect.
Domesticated?Yes
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?Yes
About 300 million cattle are slaughtered a year, supplying a quarter of the world's meat.
At a glance
Found inWorldwide
HabitatFarmland, Grassland
ColoursBlack, White, Brown
SizeLarge
WeightHereford: cows 600–800 kg, bulls 1,000–1,200 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives inherds
Lives for18–22 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Worldwide. Taurine cattle in temperate regions, zebu in India and the tropics, and sanga cattle in sub-Saharan Africa.
- What it eats
- Grass and other plants. Cattle are ruminants: one large stomach with four compartments ferments tough plant material.
Did you know
A herd animal: even a short time alone raises a cow's heart rate and stress hormones.
Cows can sort pictures of other cattle into familiar and unfamiliar individuals.
Often confused with
- Bull
A bull is the uncastrated adult male; the cow is the female, and a castrated male is a steer or ox.
Compare side by side - Yak
Yaks are close relatives of cattle and bison, adapted to high altitude.
Compare side by side
On these lists
Sources
Last reviewed
Play
Could you have guessed it?
A photo, a few hints, one guess. Same 438 animals.
