Is there anywhere where cows have gone wild and aren’t living with people anymore?
Would you be able to tell the difference between behavior of a feral cow and your average domesticated one? (Aside from when they do the “Off with the Primate Oppressor” dance, of course)
In South Texas there are longhorn cattle that are feral to all intents and purposes. That is, they are legally the property of the guy on whose land they roam, but they aren’t habituated to humans at all. According to the locals, they can be pretty dangerous.
“Attack Of The 50 Foot Feral Cows”
So how do you pronounce that? “Fear all cows!”
I’ve been hiking in parts of Arizona on the upper plat and Mogollon Rim country and run into some cattle that look to be quite wild. No ranches for at least 50 miles, and a scruffy look that would seem to make them ferral.
Chillingham Wild Cattle
This herd didn’t go wild - they always have been !
Cattle have become feral in many parts of the world. Here’s some information on feral cattle in general.
Here’s some information on feral cattle in Arizona and in California.
They can be a particular problem ecologically on islands, such as Hawaii.
There are large numbers of feral cattle in Northern Australia.
**Spring Break 2005: Tulsa, Oklahoma ** – Cows Gone Wild !
Oh, wow! Look at the udders on that one! No…the one with all the beads around her neck.
The previous owners of my cousin’s house in NY state had feral cows that had earlier escaped from his neighbor. He finally shot them.
Paritculary these cows.
NSFW, if the loading screen leads to the flash I’ve seen before.
Not to be picky, but the Gila Wilderness (and therefore the cattle) is in New Mexico, not Arizona.
They imply that these cattle are descendents of wild aurochs … but weren’t aurochs supposed to be HUGE? And fairly deadly? How big are the Chillinghams?
Chillingham cattle are certainly not direct descendents of wild Aurochs, but simply a very old feral stock. This article describes some of the mythology that surrounds them, as well as the issue of whether they are true wild cattle or not.
More information on the Aurochs can be found in my Staff Report, What did cows evolve from?
Aurochs were huge, up to 6 feet at the shoulder. I’m not sure how big Chillinghams are, but the article I linked to describes them as “miniature aurochsen” so they must not be that big.