Cow????? say it ain't so????

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It's all of course lies perpetrated by the media which consists of mostly horses. Cows are non-violent and docile despite the fact that our personal space is constantly invaded and our nether parts are constantly messed with. Now it is true that the cowkind is still planning a revolution with the ultimate goal of world domination but as long as humans go quietly there shouldn't be any harm done.

But these numbers pale in comparison to the deaths caused by nature’s silent, stealthy killers — cows.

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A CDC report from a few years back found that cows kill about 20 people a year. That makes cows about 20 times as lethal as sharks.

http://survival.about.com/od/8/a/How-To-Survive-An-Aggressive-Cow-Attack.htm

Know what to do if you encounter an aggressive cow. Photo © Traci J. Macnamara.

Hikers need to take precautions any time they are walking through a field full of cows, even though these animals have long history of domestication. Hikers will encounter cows in farm areas in the U.S. and especially when hiking in the Swiss Alps or in other alpine regions. Let’s fact it: Cows would rather spend their days grazing, looking after their young, and napping in a meadow, but they can act aggressively if threatened.

Adult cows can stand more than five feet tall and weigh more than 1,000 pounds. Plus they have horns and sharp hooves. Cows can become aggressive as individuals, but since they are herd animals, they will often be encountered as a group. Sometimes a curious herd can be mistaken as an approaching threat, and a hiker’s impulsive actions can increase the perceived threat, turning it into an actual threat.

In order to keep from being gored, trampled, or kicked by cows, here are a few things to keep in mind when encountering cows, especially if they become aggressive.

• Keep dogs under control at all times. A cow will often become aggressive towards a chasing dog, and when the dog returns to its owner, a cow or a group of cows may rush towards the dog and owner. Dogs are commonly implicated in aggressive cow incidents. If cows are charging you because they are reacting to your dog, let the dog go so that you can get to safety.

• Avoid walking directly through a herd of cows if possible, but if you must walk through them, stay on the established hiker’s path. Calmly wave hiking poles towards cows resting on a trail and speak in a normal voice to encourage them to move out of your way. Keep calm and act as if you are not a threat.

• Evaluate surrounding terrain carefully if you encounter cows in an area where there is not an established hiking path. Do not put yourself in further danger by trying to walk around cows in an alpine meadow if doing so will expose you to cliffs or other steep, exposed terrain.

• Make sure cows see you as you are approaching so that you do not surprise them. Due to the placement of their eyes, cows do not have a straight-ahead line of sight, so make sure they respond to your voice and move before you are too close.

• Walk well clear of calves, as a mother will instinctually protect her young. Aggressive cow encounters often involve mothers protecting calves in the early spring or summer. Be particularly aware of calves in fields at these times, and resist the temptation to pet cows and calves, no matter how cute they may be.

• If cows come towards you as a group, they may be curious. Remain calm and continue walking on quietly and quickly, trying to pass around them without making any startling movements. Cows will most likely leave you alone once they realize you are not a threat.

• If you detect an aggressive cow or a threatening group of cows, keep moving calmly and do not make direct eye contact. Keep your body facing the cow; do not turn your back to the animal or run.

• If an aggressive cow does charge you, use your trekking poles as a weapon, and hit the animal directly on the nose to deter it. Be quick and precise with your hit. Don’t wave poles wildly, as the motion may further aggravate an aggressive cow.

• Finally, walk in remote areas with a partner so that you may help each other out. If you encounter cows with a partner or as a group of hikers, stay together to project a larger presence, and make sure that you move together in the same careful, calm way that you would move if you were to encounter cows on your own.

Heck cattle, a giant breed created by the Nazis, on a British farm in 2009. (Press Association via AP)

Some of Derek Gow's cows terrified him. "If I was standing here and some of the more aggressive ones were in this field, and they could see me, then they would come right across now and try and kill you," he told the BBC. Those cows would charge "with every intention of wiping you off the face of this Earth," he said from his farm.

That aggression was no fluke; those cows were Heck cattle, bred by Nazi zoologists who used Spanish fighting bulls in their quest to resurrect a long-extinct breed, the aurochs. Their resulting mean demeanor forced Gow, an English farmer, to send 20 of his Heck cows off to be turned into burgers and sausages, the BBC reported.

The story of how the Nazis got into the cow-breeding business actually began in 1600s Poland, when the last of the aurochs died. Dutch writer Cis Van Vuure said the aurochs had "the dubious honor of being the first documented case of extinction," Elizabeth Kolbert writes in the New Yorker.

These were wild cows with ancient roots. They adorned the walls of caves and are thought to have stood about six feet tall. Julius Ceasar said the beasts had extraordinary strength and speed and were "a little below the elephant in size," Kolbert writes, although she casts doubt that he ever actually saw one.

Competition from domestic breeds and over-hunting led to dwindling numbers. Eventually the aurochs disappeared from the European landscape.

That is, until the 1920s, when German zoo directors and brothers Lutz and Heinz Heck cooked up the idea to bring them back. They believed that the aurochs were the origin of all domestic cattle, Michael Wang writes for Cabinet Magazine.

Lutz Heck recalled that as a youth, he became keenly interested in the lowland European bison and aurochs, "which have become almost legendary but are regarded as the most powerful representatives of primeval German game."

By the 1930s, the Nazi government took an interest in the program and began funding it. Reintroducing aurochs "into the German landscape was part of a larger project of constructing a national identity based on mythic foundations," Wang writes.

Lutz Heck, "a committed Nazi," was eventually appointed to the Third Reich’s Forest Authority, Kolbert writes, adding, "his idea of breeding back the aurochs dovetailed neatly with the Nazis’ scheme of restoring Europe, through selective human breeding, to its mythic, Aryan past."

But without modern genetics, the brothers instead bred domestic cows in hopes of recreating features attributed to the wild aurochs. They were guided by old writing and images, including cave paintings, of the beasts, Wang writes. Each brother bred a set; Lutz Heck used Spanish fighting bulls.

One brother sent his cattle to modern-day Poland, and another set was sent to the estate of their Nazi research patron north of Berlin, Kolbert writes. But Allied bombs and the end of the war also meant the end for most Heck cattle.

"Animals succumbed to shrapnel wounds or burned to death in their cages. Dangerous species broke loose and were shot. Such was the fate of the Heck aurochs," Wang writes. "Lutz Heck’s son gunned down the agitated and stampeding aurochs, together with warthogs and wild boar, after they had escaped their burning enclosures."

While most died, some Heck cattle at the Munich zoo and other parks did survive.

Decades later, Gow — a farmer and conservationist — came into the picture. In 2009, he brought 13 Heck bulls and cows to his farm, the first time the animal set foot on British soil. He told the Guardian that the beasts "look prehistoric" and would be perfect for nature photographers. Gow was also interested in starting his own breeding program.

"They are an important part of the ecosystem because each cow produces its own weight in dung a year," Gow said in 2009. "That is excellent for the whole food chain, from dung beetles upwards."

Meanwhile, other breeders have become interested in the aurochs. The Heck cattle that come directly from the Nazi program aren't technically the aurochs of old, as they don't share the same genetics. They "will attack without a prior threat display," Henri Kerkdijk, who heads a Dutch preservationist group seeking to resurrect aurochs via genetics, told Time.

Gow, for his part, was able to breed the Heck cattle he owned. But after more than five years, many of the animals were just too aggressive to keep. He said they had little commercial value, although they were still important for conservation purposes.

"The ones we had to get rid of would just attack you any chance they could," Gow told the Guardian this week. "They would try to kill anyone. Dealing with that was not a lot of fun at all."

Even loading them onto a trailer to get rid of them was a challenge; a "very athletic young man" had to allow the beasts to charge at him as he stood on a ramp. Gow says that with the culling of the more violent animals, peace has returned to his farm.

"Despite these problems, I have no regrets at all," Gow told the Guardian. "It has been a good thing to do, and the history of them is fascinating."

Why and how to read a
cow or bull

Knowing behavior patterns, especially of bulls, may help
reduce injuries and might possibly save your life. Reading
behavior can also help you improve care.

By Jack Albright
Hoard's Dairyman Magazine

The author is professor emeritus of animal science and veterinary medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.

Automation, considered by some to be detrimental to the husbandry and welfare of animals in intensive units, needs to be reconsidered. The time saved, together with reduced work and drudgery, should release workers for more human-animal interactions, thus allowing better care. Yet, there are many instances where farm staff come into one-on-one contact with animals. Are they prepared?

For as long as cows have been milked, there has been the art of cow care that results in more milk from healthier, contented cows. It has been recognized that the dairy cow’s productivity can be adversely affected by discomfort or maltreatment. Alert handlers have the perception and ability to read body language in animals.

For example, healthy calves, cows, and bulls will exhibit a good stretch after they get up, then relax to a normal posture. Yet, higher rates of standing, oftentimes with an arched back and with their head and ears lowered, is taken as a sign of discomfort or discontent in studies of cow and calf confinement.

Cattle under duress show signs by bellowing, butting, or kicking. Behavioral indicators like these are always useful signs that the environment needs to be improved. In some cases, the way animals behave is the only clue that stress is present.

You can get clues to a cow’s mood and condition by observing the tail. When the tail is hanging straight down, the cow is relaxed, grazing, or walking, but when the tail is tucked between the cow’s legs, it means the animal is cold, sick, or frightened. During mating, threat, or investigation, the tail hangs away from the body. When galloping, the tail is held straight out, and a kink can be observed when the animal is in a bucking, playful mood.

Dealing with bulls . . .

By virtue of their size and disposition, bulls may be considered as one of the most dangerous of domestic animals. Farm procedures should be designed to protect human safety and to provide for bull welfare. Everyone who comes into contact with bulls should recognize the various body postures of threat and aggression. This is the only way a person can stay mentally and physically ahead of the bull.

If cornered by a bull, it is best not to move too fast, but to back away from the bull’s flight zone which is about 20 feet in range. While moving away from the bull’s flight zone, you should watch the bull at all times until you get to a fence, crawl space, or other safe retreat. Turning and running invites being chased. Not as likely, but the same can be said for aggressive fresh cows with their newborn calves as they, too, can attack and maul.

Understand postures, threats . . .

There are certain major behavioral activities related to bulls. These are threat displays, challenges, territorial activities, female seeking and directing (nudging), and female tending. These activities tend to flow from one to another. Threat displays are a broadside view (Photo 1). This posture is observed when a person or another bull invades its flight zone.

PHOTO 1. BROADSIDE THREAT DISPLAY is a warning that a human has invaded his flight zone.

The threat display of the bull puts him in a physiological state of fight or flight. The threat display often begins with a broadside view with back arched to show the greatest profile, followed by the head down, sometimes shaking the head rapidly from side to side, protrusion of the eyeballs, and erection of the hair along the back.

The direct threat is head-on with head lowered and shoulders hunched and neck curved to the side toward the potential object of the aggression (Photo 2). Pawing with the forefeet, sending dirt flying behind or over the back, as well as rubbing or horning the ground are often components of the threat display (Photo 3). If, in response to the threat display, the recipient animal advances with head down in a fight mode, a short fight with butting of horns or heads ensues. If the recipient of the threat has been previously subdued by the animal, he will likely withdraw with no further interaction.

PHOTO 2. DIRECT THREAT IS HEAD-ON with head down and shoulders hunched and neck curved towards the threat.

PHOTO 3. JERSEY BULL PAWING the ground. In the foreground, another bull is seeking out potential females in estrus.

While a bull is showing a threat display, if an opponent such as another bull (or person) withdraws to about 20 feet, the encounter will subside, and the bull will turn away. If not, the bull will circle another bull or animal, drop into the cinch (flank) body position, or start with head-to-head or head-to-body pushing.

At the first sign of any of the above behaviors, humans should avoid the bull and exit rapidly, hopefully via a predetermined route.

With the advent of artificial insemination, the bull initially left many dairy farms. With poor estrus detection and difficult breeding cows, the yearling bull has made a come back as a "clean-up" bull. While observing cows in larger herds in the Southwest U.S., I found as many as seven yearling bulls in a group. Rightfully so, at the first sign of meanness, a bull was sent on a one-way trip to the butcher.

Many people lack the background, attitude, and precaution of dealing with dangerous bulls and fresh cows; therefore, additional training on bull/cow behavior is needed. It is wise to respect and be wary of all bulls, especially dairy bulls, as they are not to be trusted. Each bull is different, and any bull is potentially dangerous. He may seem to be tame, but, on any given day, he may turn and severely injure or perhaps kill a person, young or old, inexperienced or experienced.

Bulls become defensive when a cow is in heat and needs to be removed from "his" group or moved with the group to the holding pen for milking. Never handle the bull alone, and never turn your back on a bull. To move cattle or to appear larger and to protect oneself, carry a cane, stick, handle, plastic pole with flap, or a baseball bat. For further information about bull behavior and handler safety, refer the book by to Albright and Arave, "The Behavior of Cattle," CAB International, 1997, or many of the older dairy textbooks.

In addition to bulls, you must be careful around certain steers, heifers, and recently calved cows protecting their calves. Some animals are different and do not follow the threat display behavior previously mentioned. Be careful of following behavior, walking the fence, bellowing, a cow in heat, and the bull that protects the cow, thereby attacking the handler. Remember, an animal’s first attack should be its last, and it should be sent to the slaughterhouse; see Hoard’s Dairyman, November, 1998, page 787.

Animal care has a profound effect on their temperament, and this is not always taken into consideration. For example, bull calves should never be teased, played with as a calf, treated roughly, or rubbed vigorously on the forehead and area of the horns. You should stroke under the chin (rather than on top of the head) as an appeasement, taming, grooming-like behavior. This is essentially the way cattle groom each other.

Learn to be a good observer . . .

Observation of dairy cattle has been going on for centuries and helps to raise knowledge and improves husbandry techniques. A more logical approach to the study of cow behavior and training is now advocated, linking it with commercial operations. Time saved through today’s automation should be invested in observing animals. A knowledge of normal behavior patterns provides an understanding about cattle and results in improved care and handling that will achieve and maintain higher milk yields, worker and animal comfort, and welfare.

The National Institute for Animal Agriculture, formerly known as the Livestock Conservation Institute, Bowling Green, Ky., has prepared an excellent training video entitled, "Understanding dairy cattle behavior to improve handling and production" (Hoard’s Dairyman, April 10, 1993, page 336). Dairy cattle must fit in well with their herdmates, as well as their handlers. For those who like to work with dairy cattle, proper mental attitude must blend in with skillful management and humane care in today’s highly competitive, technological, urban-based society.

SCIENCESHOT

HEMERA/THINKSTOCK

http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/cows_head.html

Ghost Cows of Farm Road 511 – Brownsville In Brownsville, as in many other places, they have a well-known road ghost legend, but this one might be the most unique road ghost story you have ever heard. You see, in Brownsville there is a fairly well-travelled farm road called Farm Road 511, and while it seems to be a perfectly normal road by the light of day, the locals warn of traveling it late at night, lest you encounter the road's ghostly inhabitants. They say that as you drive down certain dark and desolate stretches of 511, your headlights may suddenly wash over a large cow standing RIGHT in the middle of the road, not six feet ahead of your bumper. That's right––a ghostly cow! You may swerve or pull off the road to avoid it, risking an accident, only to look back out at the road to see that nothing whatsoever is there. Some people have even gotten out of their cars and searched up and down the road, only to find no sign of any cows or anything else, living or dead. So many ghost cow sightings and resulting car accidents have occurred on this road that the local newspaper and other media have reported on the story.

Weird Texas

http://weirdus.com/states/texas/road_less_traveled/ghost_cows_of_511/index.php

You'll note that no one is getting killed by frogs.

You're welcome.

RodeoSchro said:

You'll note that no one is getting killed by frogs.

You're welcome.

Bison attack two more Yellowstone visitors

from: http://www.cnn.com/2015/0...index.html

By Katia Hetter, CNN

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Updated 5:05 PM ET, Thu July 2, 2015

A 68-year-old Georgia woman remained hospitalized Thursday after encountering a bison while hiking Wednesday on Storm Point Trail, according to the National Park Service.

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As she passed the bison, it charged and gored her. A witness reported the attack to a nearby ranger leading a hike, who called for help. Due to the serious nature of the woman's injuries, she was taken by helicopter ambulance to a hospital outside the park. Her condition was unknown Thursday.

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The other incident happened on June 23, when a 19-year-old Georgia woman and three friends who work at nearby Canyon Village were walking to their car after a late-night swim at the Firehole River. They saw a bison lying about 10 feet away, and one friend turned and ran. But the animal charged the teen and "tossed her in the air," the park service said.

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After the teen went to bed, she awoke a short time later feeling ill and called for medical help. She took an ambulance to a hospital outside the park and "was released with minor injuries later that day," the park service said.

Bison can sprint three times faster than humans can run, park officials say.

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Four incidents in less than two months is a lot more than usual, Yellowstone spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said. "We usually have one to two incidents per year," she said.

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Almost 5,000 bison live in Yellowstone, located mostly in Wyoming and the only place in the Uni...oric times.

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With July 4 approaching, the nation's national parks are entering their busiest season, and park officials are urging tourists to take extra care around wild animals.

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Yellowstone's regulations...ge animals and 100 yards away from bears and wolves. "Bison can sprint three times faster than humans can run and are unpredictable and dangerous," park officials warn.

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Some tourists may provoke animals by getting too close to them. The consequences of treating wild animals like they're domesticated or in a zoo can be deadly, officials say.

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On June 2, a 62-year-old Australian man visiting Yellowstone was seriously injured after getting too close to a bison near Old Faithful Lodge.

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The man was reportedly within 5 feet of the bison while taking pictures when the animal charged him and tossed him into the air several times, according to park reports. The man was taken to a hospital for further medical treatment.

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On May 15, a 16-year-old ...by a bison while posing for a photo near Old Faithful, Yellowstone's famous geyser. She had been hiking near the bison, which was grazing next to a trail.

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The girl suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries from the attack, the park service said.

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read more at link