Cows

Cows are herbivores – this means they only eat plants and no meat.

A baby cow is called a “calf”.

Cows are social animals, and form close friendships. Cows will usually choose to spend much of their time with their favourite cow friends and may dislike particular cows.

In India, cows are considered sacred and are allowed to roam the streets freely.

Due to farming, there are over a billion cows in the world.

Cows usually weigh between 720 – 1100kg!

In the wild, a cow could live up to 25 years old.

Cows are ruminants. They have a single stomach, but four different digestive compartments.

Cow’s spots are unique, like humans’ finger prints. No two cow’s spots are exactly the same!

A cow cannot produce milk until she has had a calf.

Cows only have bottom teeth

Cows swallow their food, spit it back up, and chew it all over again. This is called ‘chewing the cud’, and is part of how a cow’s special stomach works.

A cow’s stomach can hold up to 190 litres of food that has been partially digested.

Cows stand up and lay down about 14 times a day.

Cows have a great sense of smell and can smell up to 9km away!

Cows do not actually bite grass; instead, they curl their tongue around it.

Cows can hear lower and higher frequencies better than humans.

Cows can doze standing up, but they only sleep deeply when lying down.

Cows are very curious and inquisitive animals who will investigate anything new!