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Cattle

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Cattle
File:Cow with calf thumbnail.jpg
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Bovinae
Genus: Bos
species: taurus
Binomial name
Bos taurus

Cattle are domesticated ungulates of the species Bos taurus, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised for meat (called beef), dairy products (milk), and leather, and used for draft (pulling plows and the like). Older English sources such as the King James Version of the Bible also refer to livestock in general as cattle. This article refers to the common modern meaning of cattle.

Terminology

Young cattle are called calves. Young males are called bullocks or bull calves; young females are called heifers. Ordinarily male cattle are castrated unless needed for breeding. The castrated male is then called a steer, unless kept for draft (pulling) in which case it is called an ox. Intact males are called bulls. Adult females over two years of age (approximately) are called cow.

There is no singular equivalent to "cattle" other than the various gender and age-specific terms (though "Catron" has been proposed it is not widely accepted or even understood). "Cow" is probably the closest to being gender-neutral, although it is usually understood to mean female (females of other animals, such as whales or elephants, are also called cows.) Some Canadian farmers use the term "cattlebeast." "Neat" and "beef" are obsolescent terms.

The terms bull and cow are also used for the male and female of some other species, including other bovids such as buffalo, but also less closely related species such as moose, elephants, whale, and sea lions. The terms are used primarily to refer to animals or that have polygynous or harem mating systemsm, though "bull" in particular may be used because humans find the male of a species daunting.

Biology

Cattle are ruminants, meaning that they have a unique digestive system that allows them to synthesize amino acids. This allows them to thrive on grasses and other vegetation.

The last European wild cattle, called aurochs, were killed by poachers in Masovia, Poland, in 1627, though one breeder claims to have recreated the original gene pool by careful crossing of commercial breeds.

Uses of cattle

Cattle occupy a unique role in human history. Some consider them the oldest form of wealth. Their ability to provide meat, dairy, and draft while reproducing themselves and eating nothing but grass has furthered human interests dramatically through the millennia.

Cow thumbnail

Larger cow Click photo for more images.

In Hinduism, the cow is said to be holy (and thus should not be eaten); "The cow is our Mother, for she gives us her milk."

In Latin America and the western United States, cattle are often grazed on large tracts of rangeland called ranchos or ranches.

In Portugal, Spain and some Latin American countries, bulls are used for the sport of bullfighting; in many other countries, this is illegal.

The recent outbreaks of mad cow disease have reduced or prevented some traditional uses of cattle for food, for example the eating of brains or oxtail.

Ox

Oxen (plural of ox) are cattle trained as draft animals. Most often they are adult, castrated males. Usually an ox is over four years old due to the need for training and for time to grow to full size. The term steer is used to describe animals of the same species and gender when raised solely for meat. Oxen are used for plowing, transport, hauling, grain-grinding, and wagon drawing. Oxen are sometimes used to skid logs in low-impact select cut logging.

Oxen are most often used in teams of two. A wooden yoke is fastened about their necks so that the force of draft is distributed across their shoulders. Oxen are chosen from calves with horns, since the horns hold the yoke in place when the oxen back up or slow down a wheeled load going down hills.

Oxen must be painstakingly trained from a young age. Their teamster must fashion or purchase as many as a dozen yokes of different sizes as the animals grow.

Oxen can pull harder than horses. Though not as fast, they are less prone to injury. There are still a substantial number of them in use worldwide, especially in less developed nations.

Miscellaneous

Breeds of cattle:

See also

Other meanings of cow, bull etc

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