Sep7

cows just wanna’ have fun.

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Cows have best friends. Lists of the world’s most intelligent animals don’t often feature cows, but they have more emotional depth than they get credit for. A 2011 study by scientists at the University of Northampton in England revealed that not only do cows have best friends,  but they also get stressed out when separated from their BFFs. The research was conducted by comparing heart rates and cortisol levels during 30-minute sessions in which a cow was penned with a “preferred partner” it was known to have a close bond with, then a “familiar but non-preferred individual.” When the besties shared a pen together, their heart rates were lower and other signs of stress were also reduced.

Cows aren’t the only animals that form friendships. Chimpanzees and bonobos do, too, as do several others, including dolphins, horses, certain birds, and marmots. Dolphins can identify their friends by taste, whereas most other creatures are known for simply grooming, remaining in close proximity to, and touching their besties — capuchin monkeys, for example, gently stick their fingers in one another’s eye sockets as a bonding ritual.

 

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source credits:  gary larson image, university of northampton, vegnews.com, interesting facts

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73 responses »

  1. We need to give animals more credit for emotions and thoughts. They obviously experience fear and pain in much the same way as humans, and it is clear that they make long-lasting friendships and relationships. This is very evident in Swans and some other birds who stay together for life.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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  14. I like that, pun and all….. we dismissively call others ‚dumb cow‘ when they behave stupidly (well, I don‘t….) but like in so many other cases, we have no idea about anything! To me every animal (apart form mosquitos) has a right to live their best life and I save anything I can. I don‘t know why cows have such a terrible reputation!

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  17. not surprising really. though what is surprising is that people raise these animals often in terrible conditions and take their calves close to birth. how can be ok to do to another creature which is so loving?

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  20. Have I ever told you about Dream and King? Dream was a white horse, King was a Brahma bull. They lived at an animal hospital not far from me and were literally inseparable. One day King accidentally gored Dream, and when the vet came out to see what was happening, he found King in a terrible state. They brought Dream in and patched her up, and King apparently stood outside a window and watched until she came back out. When you mentioned how cows have best friends, I thought of that. (The vet retired and sold the animal hospital, which is now senior housing. No idea what happened to Dream and King.)

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  32. In one of the James Herriot books there was a cow, who was old and the farmer released her into a crowd of cattle going to slaughter. This old cow, walked along but when it saw a gate back onto the farmer’s land, she quietly separated herself from the others and walked home. She seemed to know she might never see her friends again. They are smarter than we know sometimes.

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  34. I agree. When I was young, my brother took me, for some reason, to a place where he was purchasing a cow to be killed for food. They had to take the cow from his buddy who wailed the whole time they were separated. I asked the rancher why he was wailing and he said they were bonded and always cried when separated, like it was no big deal. And when they take the babies away from the moms, as I heard not long ago when I was in the country, a whole hillside of cows were wailing at the same time and I asked again and was told they had just taken all the babies from the moms. They want to breed them again as soon as possible. Just one of the reasons why I’m a vegetarian.

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