# Do cows really make up the majority of vetebrate biomass on the planet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635 "2011-11-21T13:33:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/1 "2011-11-21T13:33:21Z")
I’ve seen a "fact“floating round the internet claiming cattle make up 80% of vertebrate biomass on the planet, and though this is hard to believe, I’m wondering if they make up the majority of it, after all, they are pretttay big and there are hundreds upon hundreds of millions of them. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/2 "2011-11-21T13:43:39Z")
If the figures on wikipedia Biomass page are right then nowhere near 80 percent of vertebrate biomass. marine fish is much higher total global biomass than cattle. If you restrict it to land vertebrates then cattle is the single largest species but it’s still not 80 percent. cattle looks like it might be very roughly 40 percent of land vertebrates but the figures on wiki are incomplete. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/3 "2011-11-21T14:23:25Z")
Based on what I see, I bet they are outmassed by Canada Geese, pigeons or seagulls just based on population. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/4 "2011-11-21T17:16:23Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > … there are hundreds upon hundreds of millions of them. Is that even remotely possible? ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/5 "2011-11-21T17:54:07Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Is that even remotely possible? Hundreds of millions is actually a low estimate. It is estimated there are approximately [1.4 billion cattle](http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/global-livestock-counts) worldwide. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/6 "2011-11-21T17:54:30Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > I’ve seen a "fact“floating round the internet claiming cattle make up 80% of vertebrate biomass on the planet, and though this is hard to believe, I’m wondering if they make up the majority of it, after all, they are pretttay big and there are hundreds upon hundreds of millions of them. Is this just domestic cattle, or all bovidae, from Gaur to Antelope? ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/7 "2011-11-21T19:53:51Z")
> [@Baracus](#): > > Hundreds of millions is actually a low estimate. It is estimated there are approximately [1.4 billion cattle](http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/global-livestock-counts) worldwide. Wah! Don’t have a cow man! 🙂 > [@Quartz](#): > > Is this just domestic cattle, or all bovidae, from Gaur to Antelope? The “fact” went as follows; **Mountain Gorilla** : Highly intelligent, collectivistic, extremely strong. _ **Endangered** _. \*\*Lions: \*\*Strong, athletic, powerful pack hunters. _ **Endangered** _. **Cows** : Incredibly stupid. Unable to care for themselves in nature. Tastes delicious. _ **Composes 80% of all the vertebrate biomass on earth** _ ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/8 "2011-11-21T20:05:15Z")
There’s 7 billion humans, and they weigh something like 100 lbs a piece. There’s something like a billion cows and they weigh ~1,000 pounds a piece. So its pretty clear that cows aren’t even 80% of the human-cow biomass, nevermind that of all vertebrates. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/9 "2011-11-21T20:10:24Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/10 "2011-11-21T20:20:26Z")
> [@Baracus](#): > > Hundreds of millions is actually a low estimate. It is estimated there are approximately [1.4 billion cattle](http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/global-livestock-counts) worldwide. Hmm. A good math problem would be to figure out which species has greater total biomass – cattle or humans. We once had a debate on these boards (long ago) whether any single species on earth had ever achieved greater total biomass than humans. Looks like cattle could give us a run for our money. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/11 "2011-11-21T21:52:40Z")
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Bovidae were responsible for 80% of the vertebrate biom **e** ss on land. 😃 And I think that the statement under question must be excluding aquatic creatures. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/12 "2011-11-21T22:02:38Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > I’ve seen a "fact“floating round the internet claiming cattle make up 80% of vertebrate biomass on the planet… You do? If I do a google search for that, this thread is the only hit that has that claim in it. I’m guessing you are remembering incorrectly, even if what you have seen is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Grendel\_s\_Father](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grendel\_s\_Father](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grendel_s_Father)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-make-up-the-majority-of-vetebrate-biomass-on-the-planet/603635/13 "2011-11-22T21:19:02Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Wah! Don’t have a cow man! 🙂 > The “fact” went as follows; > > **Mountain Gorilla** : Highly intelligent, collectivistic, extremely strong. _ **Endangered** _. > \*\*Lions: \*\*Strong, athletic, powerful pack hunters. _ **Endangered** _. > **Cows** : Incredibly stupid. Unable to care for themselves in nature. Tastes delicious. _ **Composes 80% of all the vertebrate biomass on earth** _ Lions also aren’t technically endangered. The IUCN lists them as “vulnerable”, a step above “endangered”.