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Is giving a cow whiskey the secret to ensuring it will live a long healthy life? It might sound silly, but if Bertha, the world’s longest-living cow had a few shots every year before staring in the St. Patrick’s Day parade, then who knows, maybe it helps. Interestingly, Bertha also holds the record for most calves birthed by one cow.
Read about more long-living animals over at Mental Floss.
A European Union Council rule mandates “that cattle housed in groups should be given sufficient space so that they can all lie down simultaneously”. Researchers at Oxford University and Clarkson University in New York state were curious to determine whether this was necessary. Do cows ever all lie down at the same time?
Their key insight, the team says, was to realise “it is biologically plausible to view [cattle] as oscillators … During the first stage (standing/feeding), they stand up to graze but they strongly prefer to lie down and ‘ruminate’ or chew the cud for the second stage (lying/ruminating). They thus oscillate between two stages.”
The researchers “modelled the eating, lying and standing dynamics of a cow using a piecewise linear dynamical system … We chose a form of coupling based on cows having an increased desire to eat if they notice another cow eating and an increased desire to lie down if they notice another cow lying down.” This, they say, led to at least one unexpected discovery: “[We] showed that it is possible for cows to synchronise less when the coupling is increased.”
I’m not sure what implications this has for livestock producers, but this is not the first study of its kind, as you’ll see in an article at The Guardian. Link -via Improbable Research, where you can find the worst version of Deck The Halls ever recorded.
(Image credit: Graham Turner/The Guardian)
Is she a trained ninja? We don’t know, but she certainly has the abilities of one. The people of Cass County, Nebraska live in terror of this escaped cow:
Residents compared the cow to a ninja because — like the legendary Japanese warriors — it would suddenly appear and then disappear. It would even show up late at night on Main Street, startling tavern denizens and leaving lots of cow pies behind.
And they will stop at nothing — nothing — to capture the cow. Even taking her child hostage:
John and Jessica Vallery of the W.J. Cattle Co. just south of Plattsmouth tracked the approximately 1,500-pound cow through the snow and found her calf nearby. The Vallerys captured the calf and placed it in a pen, hoping its mother would walk in of her own accord.
But she did not. Oh, not yet, at least. I suspect this was a catastrophic mistake by the humans.
Link -via Say Uncle | Photo: Omaha World-Herald
If you liked the video showing a Mariachi band performing to a Beluga whale, you’ll be entertained by this one. The cows really seem like they’re enjoying themselves here.
YouTube Link -via Arbroath
A cow escaped from a slaughterhouse in Queens and made a mad dash through the streets for freedom. Police eventually wrangled the 500-pound animal into a horse trailer and took her to an animal control facility in Brooklyn. Despite her capture, the cow was ultimately successful: city officials have decided to send her to an animal sanctuary. Link -via Nerdcore
Shena took Cyriak’s animation Cows & Cows & Cows and turned it into an interpretive dance. Now if Cyriak were to take the dancers out of this video and manipulate them into his vision of dance, that would be …just like Cyriak. -via The Daily What
Cows that have been modified with human genes are producing milk very similar to human milk. The researchers responsible hope to produce and market a this product as a substitute for human milk. Lead researcher Ning Li explained:
“The modified bovine milk is a possible substitute for human milk. It fulfilled the conception of humanising the bovine milk.”
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, he added the “human-like milk” would provide “much higher nutritional content”. He said they had managed to produce three generations of GM cows but for commercial production there would need to be large numbers of cows produced.He said: “Human milk contains the ‘just right’ proportions of protein, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and vitamins for an infant’s optimal growth and development.
Link via DVICE | Photo (unrelated) by Flickr user Joost J. Bakker IJuiden used under Creative Commons license
Veterinary students at the University of Bristol (UK) have using their new “Breed’n Betsy” — a machine that simulates parts of a cow’s body and replaces the use of live animals for this part of veterinary training:
The metal frame simulators allow students to diagnose pregnancies, and carry out artificial insemination and embryo transfer.
Students can also use the system to teach themselves with the aid of guidance posters and have the freedom to practice whenever they want.
“Many of our students come in to try out the simulators,” said Mike Steele, from the School of Veterinary Sciences.
“As a result, the first rectalling class with a new group of students is very much more successful.
“No student is in a cow for more than five minutes now and up to 90% leave the first session having felt a uterus, most differentiating whether pregnant or not.”
Link via Ace of Spades HQ | Product Site | Photo: University of Bristol
To protect himself from an attacking cow, 70-year-old Oscar Wilcox shot the animal in the face with a .22 caliber pistol. When that didn’t stop the onslaught, the Florida rancher’s wife hit the cow several times with her truck to get it off of her husband. But even that didn’t stop the “unkillable” bovine:
When that didn’t work, she opened fire with the pistol that Wilcox had dropped in the encounter.
The crossbred cow, which sported 12 to 18-inch horns, was shot several times in the face, according to a police report. It was finally contained in the pasture.
“(Wilcox’s wife) stated that the cow has always been nasty and had attacked her about a week ago causing bruises,” the report states.
Link | Photo by Flickr user Nostromoo used under Creative Commons license
Whether lazy and mellow or hyperactive and playful, pets enrich our lives by providing us with unconditional love. Some animals offer their owners even more than friendship though. Here are ten incredible animals that managed to rescue their owners from certain death.
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The DeStefanis agreed to watch the pet of some friends who were out of town. Surprisingly, this good deed ended up saving the family’s life. Because the family wasn’t sure how the pup, Bandit, would get along with their other dogs, they kept it in the master bedroom. That day, Rich, the father in the family sterilized a hairbrush by putting a hair brush in a pan with a bunch of water. Unfortunately, everyone forgot about the brush and went to bed without turning off the heat.
When the water evaporated and the plastic started burning, toxic smoke entered the air and filled the house. The family just bought new smoke detectors the day before, but not a single one went off. But Bandit was determined to save the family’s lives. He jumped on the mother’s chest and barked over and over until she woke up. When she did start to stir, she noticed the smoke smell immediately and got the rest of her family and pets out of the house.
The smoke was toxic enough to leave the family with some nasty coughs even a week later, but they if not for Bandit, they may have been a lot worse off.
It’s fairly common for U.S. soldiers stationed overseas to find new best friends when they take in stray pups from the local towns. It is uncommon, on the other hand, for those dogs to repay the favor by saving the life of a soldier. Target and two other strays staying in an army base in Afghanistan managed to save an entire unit when a suicide bomber snuck into the barracks area one night. The three animals barked and snarled at the bomber until he ended up pre-maturely detonating his bomb outside the barracks, killing himself. Everyone inside was fine, but one of the heroic dogs lost his life in the explosion.
Target was adopted by one of the soldiers who witnessed the events that night and she was even featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show when she returned to the states. Unfortunately, the story took a tragic turn when Target escaped her yard and was picked up by the pound. Her owner paid the fine online and came to pick her up on Monday morning, only to find out the shelter accidentally euthanized Target over the weekend. While the shelter claims they are launching a full investigation and putting new measures in place to ensure this never happens again, it cannot bring back the heroic animal who risked her life to save a barracks worth of soldiers.
While most pit bulls are loving family pets and some are even downright heroic, when raised in the wrong environment, any dog can become dangerous. When Cherry Woods was attacked in her yard by two pit bulls, she tried to fight them off, but couldn’t. Her husband also tried to pull the dogs away, but they were too strong for him. Fortunately, Cherry’s cat, Lima, did know how to stop the crazed dogs. He hoped into the fray, clawing, hissing and biting, managing to distract the pit bulls while the husband and wife ran inside and closed the door. Lima was able to escape after this and Cherry made a full recovery after the incident, with Lima at her side the whole time.
It has been reported that a cow in China has grown a horn in the center of its forehead:
Farmer Jia Kebing noticed a small bump on this cow’s forehead when it was born two years ago but didn’t expect it to grow into a 20cm (8in) horn.
‘My farm is famous in this region for this cow and people come in here just to see it,’ said Mr Jia from Baoding in nothern China’s Hebei province.
In the comments, describe the magical properties of the unicow.
Link via Geekologie | Photo: Metro.co.uk
They obviously appreciate a little culture out in the pasture. -via Arbroath
The latest animation from the fertile mind of Cyriak, who loves making cows do decidedly un-cow things. Link -via The Daily What
Food Inc. didn’t win Best Documentary this year, but its message is clear: farming in America is not what it used to be. Thankfully, the passion for farming for a living, and doing it right, still motivates some, like the Nolan family. A feature documentary called From Grass to Cheese is underway to show the world their commitment to start a dairy farm, and more.
The Nolan family’s Laurel Valley Creamery got it’s start in 2005 when they purchased farmland belonging to Nick’s grandparents in an attempt to carry on their family farming tradition. Their goal now is to create a successful cheese business and also help people renew their relationship with food production. Nick and Celeste firmly believe that by turning grass into cheese there are rewards far greater than just filling stomachs.
The documentarians are hoping to raise money to finish the film and have it screened for next year’s awards. As the Thomas Jefferson quote rightly states: “Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens.” Aside from Farmville, interest in farming in the United States seems to be going the way of the drive-in movie. This kind of project brings hope for future farmers.
A recent trend of cows leaping off the high mountain cliffs in the Swiss village of Lauterbrunnen has given rise to speculation. With no natural predators, locals are puzzled as to what could have spooked the cattle into jumping to their doom. Twenty eight cows have died in three days as police continue to investigate.
Are a few wild dogs or other critters spooking the cattle? Or have these cows turned suicidal because of a bad case of the blues?
‘We are investigating because cows growing up in the mountains normally can estimate dangers and do not plunge down cliffs.’
According to local reports, there had been violent thunderstorms in the area which may well have spooked the animals.
Cows do occasionally fall to their deaths in these Alpine regions although it is rare for so many to fall in one particular place.
There has been speculation in the past that when this does happen it is because a tightly-grouped number have followed each other as they search for more grass.
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by coconutnut.
A cow with a name produces more milk than a cow without, say scientists at the School of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development at Newcastle University in the UK. By giving a cow a name and treating it as an individual, farmers can increase a cow’s annual milk yield by almost 500 pints.
Photo by Volkmar K. Wentzel
“Just as people respond better to the personal touch, cows also feel happier and more relaxed if they are given a bit more one-to-one attention,” explains Catherine Douglas, one of the authors of the Newcastle study.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Marilyn Terrell.
