Bovidae Cattle and allies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Antelopes play an important role in the mythologies of certain African tribes. The following legend of the Bassari people in northern Togo, retold by German ethnologist and archaeologist Leo Viktor Frobenius (1873-1938) in Volksdichtungen aus Oberguinea (1924), describes the initial beings, created by the supreme anthropomorphic deity, Unumbotte:

“Unumbotte first made a human being, then an antelope, and then a snake. At the time these three were made there were no trees but one, a palm. Nor had the earth been pounded smooth. All three were sitting on the rough ground, and Unumbotte said to them: “The earth has not yet been pounded. You must pound the ground smooth where you are sitting.” Unumbotte gave them seeds of all kinds, and said: “Go plant these.” Then he went away.

Unumbotte came back. He saw that the three had not yet pounded the earth. They had, however, planted the seeds. One of the seeds had sprouted and grown. It was a tree. It had grown tall and was bearing fruit, red fruit. Every seven days Unumbotte would return and pluck one of the red fruits.

One day Snake said: “We too should eat these fruits. Why must we go hungry?”

Antelope said: “But we don’t know anything about this fruit.”

Then Man and his wife took some of the fruit and ate it.

Unumbotte came down from the sky and asked: “Who ate the fruit?” They answered: “We did.”

Unumbotte asked: “Who told you that you could eat the fruit?” They replied: “Snake did.”

Unumbotte asked: “Why did you listen to Snake?” They said: “We were hungry.”

Unumbotte questioned Antelope: “Are you hungry, too?” Antelope said: “Yes, I get hungry. I like to eat gras.” Since then, Antelope has lived in the wild, eating grass.

Unumbotte then gave sorghum to Man, also yam and millet. And the people gathered in eating groups that would always eat from the same bowl, never the bowls of the other groups. It was from this that the differences in language arose. And ever since then, the people have ruled the land.

But Snake was given by Unumbotte a medicine with which to bite people.”

 

Many species of antelope are described on the page Animals – Mammals: Antelopes.

 

 

In Hindu mythology, it draws the chariot of the Moon God Chandra.

A huge collection of sculptures, altogether measuring c. 15 m by 30 m, have been carved into two boulders at the outskirts of the town of Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, South India. The main theme of these sculptures, which have been dubbed The Descent of the Ganges, is an event in the Hindu epic Mahabharatha. Bhagiratha was a great king, doing penance for a thousand years to obtain the release of his 60,000 great-uncles from the curse of Saint Kapila, eventually leading to the descent of the goddess Ganga to Earth, in the form of River Ganges. However, the sculptures also depict many other themes, including blackbuck, gazelles, elephants, and cats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Nepalese legend, which describes how the yak got its rich fur, is related below at Bubalus bubalis.

The yak was domesticated by nomadic tribes as early as c. 5000 B.C., and today the population is estimated at 14 million, the vast majority in Chinese territories.

The population of wild yak may count fewer than 15,000 individuals, but numbers in some protected areas have been increasing in later years. In 1988, German-American biologist and conservationist George Schaller went to the Qiang Tang (Chang Tang) region in Tibet to study the chiru (Tibetan antelope). When he returned to this area in 2003, he found that the wildlife had rebounded in the meantime. The wild yak population, which was estimated at only 13 individuals in 1988, had grown to over 187. In a letter to the Tibetan World Wildlife Fund, Schaller wrote, “The Tibet Forestry Department has obviously made a dedicated and successful effort in protecting the wildlife.” Efforts like this have probably saved the wild populations of this magnificent animal from going extinct.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek boûs (‘ox’), originally from Sanskrit gaús, plural go. The specific name is Latin for ‘grunting’ – a most descriptive name, as the yak grunts incessantly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The banteng was domesticated at an early stage, and today the total population of domesticated animals is around 1.5 million, found mainly on Java and Bali. It has also been introduced to northern Australia, where feral populations constitute a threat to the local ecology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An old description of the aurochs is given in Commentarii de Bello Gallico (‘Commentaries on the Gallic War’), by Julius Caesar (c. 100-44 B.C.): “There is a (…) kind of animal, which is called the ure-ox. These German oxen are a little below the elephant in size, and of the appearance, colour, and shape of a bull. Their strength and speed are extraordinary. They spare neither man nor wild beast whom they have espied. The Germans take much pains to trap them in pits and kill them. The young men harden themselves with this exercise and practice themselves in this sort of hunting, and those who have slain the greatest number of them, having produced the horns in public to serve as evidence, receive great praise. But not even if they are caught when they are very young, can these oxen be accustomed to people, and tamed. The size, shape, and appearance of their horns differ much from the horns of our oxen. The Germans eagerly search for these horns, bind their tips with silver, and use them as cups at their most sumptuous entertainments.”

The aurochs was eradicated by hunting about 500 years ago. Today, at several locations in Europe, scientists and others are attempting to recreate an aurochs-like type of cattle by backcrossing primitive races of domestic cattle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further complicating the matter is the ability of taurine cattle and zebu to interbreed, and sometimes have fertile offspring, with closely related species of oxen, including yak (above), gaur (B. gaurus), banteng (above), American bison (B. bison), and Eurasian bison, or vicent (B. bonasus).

Archaeological evidence indicates that cattle were first domesticated from the aurochs in south-eastern Turkey and western Iran about 8,500 B.C., and in Europe they arrived roughly at the same time as agriculture, i.e. around 6,400 B.C. These cattle later evolved into today’s taurine cattle.

Domestication of the eastern subspecies of the aurochs, ssp. namadicus, took place about 6,000 B.C. in the Indus Valley. These domesticated animals evolved into today’s zebu, with its characteristic hump. From the Indus Valley, this breed was brought to practically all warmer areas of Asia, including China, Indochina, and Indonesia. Around 2,000 B.C., it arrived in Africa. Today, it is also found in tropical areas of the Americas. (Source: Ajmone-Marsan et al. 2010)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Originally, the word cattle was not applied only to oxen. It originated from Anglo-Norman catel, derived from medieval Latin capitale (‘money’ or ‘capital’), which originated from caput (‘head’). In those days, the word cattle covered movable property, especially livestock of any kind, as opposed to real property, the land. The term replaced the Old English word for cattle, feoh, derived from Gothic faihu, which originally also meant ‘property’.

The word cow is a corruption of Anglo-Saxon ku, which was derived from Sanskrit go, which is again derived from Ancient Indo-European gous (‘ox’). In Scotland, a cow is a coo or cou, plural kye, probably terms that came with the Viking invasions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When a bull intends to find out whether a cow is in heat, he sniffs her vagina or her urine, whereupon he rolls back his lips in a grimace, called flehmen. A sensitive area in his mouth can detect, if the cow is producing certain hormones, which reveal that she is in heat.

The gestation period of cattle is about 283 days. A newborn calf typically weighs between 25 and 45 kg.

The oldest cow on record was Big Bertha, born in Kerry, Ireland, in 1945. She died in 1993, at the ripe age of 48. She appears twice in Guinness Book of World Records, one for being the oldest cow recorded, and another for being the cow which produced most calves – no fewer than 39. (Source: irishpost.com, Jan 24, 2017)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At an early stage, oxen were also utilized to pull the plough, and to work on so-called bucket chains, or pot garlands, in which buckets or pots are attached to a turning wheel, scooping up water from wells and emptying it into irrigation canals.

Various leather items were made from cattle hides, including clothes, shoes, belts, and straps, the latter three still being produced today. At an early stage, cattle dung was utilized as fuel, and later as manure.

In certain areas of Latin America, cowboys working on horseback may still be encountered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One episode in the epic describes, how Gilgamesh and Enkidu fought and killed the Bull of Heaven: “The bull seemed indestructible. For hours they fought, until Gilgamesh, dancing in front of the bull, lured it with his tunic and bright weapons, and Enkidu thrust his sword deep into the bull’s neck, and killed it.” (Source: Ziolkowski 2011)

Modern-day bullfighting is a kind of contest, involving a man, in Spanish called a matador de toros (‘bull matador’), who attempts to subdue, immobilize, and kill a bull, usually according to a set of strict rules. The bulls utilized in Spanish-style bullfighting are bred for their aggression and physique, raised free-range with little human contact. (Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullfighting)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In their present form, Friesians originated from the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland, and Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. Today, however, they are widespread in lowland Europe, where local breeds have often evolved. In the United States, this breed outnumbers all other dairy breeds, producing about nine-tenths of the milk supply. (Source: britannica.com/animal/Holstein-Friesian)

 

 

 

 

 

As the Jersey adapts well to cold as well as hot climates, it has been exported to many countries around the world. Some countries have developed separate breeds.

 

 

 

 

 

Today, Scottish Highland cattle are popular in many countries around the world, as their long coat allows them to be outdoors all the year round, even in harsh climates. They are raised primarily for their meat, which is prized for its low content of cholesterol, and also for the milk, which generally has a very high butterfat content.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The native colour of Angus is completely black, but a red form has recently evolved, and the udder may be white. Black Angus is the most common breed of beef cattle in the U.S., with 332,421 registered in 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From old times, red animals occurred among local piebald breeds on the islands east of Jutland, but red only became dominant, when they were crossed with three imported breeds from Schleswig – all solid red.

Some of these animals were brought to Copenhagen, where they were being fed with the mash from beer and alcohol production. This fodder produced milk of high quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zebu are characterized by a hump on their shoulder and a large dewlap. Most are white, but greyish, brownish, or blackish forms are sometimes seen.

After completing their working duties, Indian zebus are often released, roaming city streets and elsewhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Veneration of the cow arose in the Vedic Period, between 1,500 to 600 B.C. The Aryans, who invaded India around 1,500 B.C., were pastoralists, and the importance of cattle was reflected in their religion. Initially, Aryans sacrificed cattle and ate their flesh, but, over time, the slaughter of milk-producing cows gradually became prohibited. Parts of the great epic Mahabharata forbids it, and in the Rigveda, cattle are said to be ‘unslayable’. Panchagavya, the five products of the cow: milk, curd, butter, urine, and dung, are all used in rites of healing, purification, and penance.

When Hinduism took form, the cow was associated with various deities, including Brahma, Shiva, Indra, Krishna, and Yama. Shiva’s steed is the bull Nandi, whereas Krishna was a cowherd in his youth, and Indra is closely associated with Kamadhenu, the wish-granting cow, which is regarded as the source of all prosperity.

In one of the Puranas, the earth-goddess Prithvi milked the cow to generate crops for humans to end a famine, and, subsequently, milked it of beneficent substances for humans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since ancient times, Muktinath has been the site of a temple, dedicated to Vishnu. From the barren landscape here, a sacred spring wells forth. Its waters are led in channels into the temple, where it is divided into 108 fountains, 105 of which are shaped like a cow’s head, the remaining three like a mythical, elephant-like creature. For devout Vaishnavites, a bath in these sacred waters will ensure that you obtain mukti (release from being reborn) after death. – Several pictures from this place are shown on the page Religion: Hinduism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the lamp was extinguished, the serpent approached Yama, who was entirely unaffected, marking a 0 at the king’s name in his register. However, the cunning serpent managed to add a 7 in front of the 0, thus prolonging the king’s life with 70 years.

To commemorate this miraculous gift, the king introduced an annual, five-day-long Festival of Lights, during which devout Nepalese show their gratitude towards Yama and Lakshmi. The most important day of this festival is Lakshmi Puja, in which the sacred cow is worshipped in the morning, as it is regarded as the visible form of the great mother-goddess Lakshmi.

The cows are washed early in the morning, and their forehead, horns and tail are dyed with vermillion powder and turmeric. Mallas (garlands of marigolds) are draped around their neck, and they are fed with delicacies. People remove the sacred raksha thread from their wrist and tie it to the tail of a cow, begging it to guard their souls into heaven after death.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a long time there came back the drawling, sleepy snarl of a full-fed tiger just wakened.

“Who calls?” said Shere Khan*, and a splendid peacock fluttered up out of the ravine screeching.

“I, Mowgli. Cattle thief, it is time to come to the Council Rock! Down – hurry them down, Akela**! Down, Rama***, down!”

The herd [of buffaloes] paused for an instant at the edge of the slope, but Akela gave tongue in the full hunting-yell, and they pitched over one after the other, just as steamers shoot rapids, the sand and stones spurting up round them. Once started, there was no chance of stopping, and before they were fairly in the bed of the ravine Rama winded Shere Khan and bellowed.

“Ha! Ha!” said Mowgli, on his back. “Now thou knowest!” and the torrent of black horns, foaming muzzles, and staring eyes whirled down the ravine just as boulders go down in floodtime; the weaker buffaloes being shouldered out to the sides of the ravine where they tore through the creepers. They knew what the business was before them – the terrible charge of the buffalo herd against which no tiger can hope to stand. Shere Khan heard the thunder of their hoofs, picked himself up, and lumbered down the ravine, looking from side to side for some way of escape, but the walls of the ravine were straight and he had to hold on, heavy with his dinner and his drink, willing to do anything rather than fight. The herd splashed through the pool he had just left, bellowing till the narrow cut rang. Mowgli heard an answering bellow from the foot of the ravine, saw Shere Khan turn (the tiger knew if the worst came to the worst it was better to meet the bulls than the cows with their calves), and then Rama tripped, stumbled, and went on again over something soft, and, with the bulls at his heels, crashed full into the other herd, while the weaker buffaloes were lifted clean off their feet by the shock of the meeting. That charge carried both herds out into the plain, goring and stamping and snorting. Mowgli watched his time, and slipped off Rama’s neck, laying about him right and left with his stick.

“Quick, Akela! Break them up. Scatter them, or they will be fighting one another. Drive them away, Akela. Hai, Rama! Hai, hai, hai! my children. Softly now, softly! It is all over.”

Akela and Grey Brother ran to and fro, nipping the buffaloes’ legs, and though the herd wheeled once to charge up the ravine again, Mowgli managed to turn Rama, and the others followed him to the wallows.

Shere Khan needed no more trampling. He was dead, and the kites were coming for him already.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wild buffaloes were domesticated about 5,000 years ago, and through selective breeding they have become the docile beasts that we today see working in the paddy fields, or pulling heavily loaded carts.

The domestic water buffalo is usually known as Bubalus bubalis in the Latin. However, the differences between it and its wild cousin are very small indeed, leading to some authorities calling the domestic buffalo Bubalus arnee ssp. bubalis. The main difference lies in the shape of the horns, which in the wild species are massive, spreading out sideways almost horizontally, only curving at the tip, whereas the horns of the domestic buffalo are smaller, curved almost from the base.

Two types of domestic buffalo are recognized, the so-called river buffalo, named B. bubalis ssp. bubalis or B. arnee ssp. bubalis, which lives in the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, and the Balkans, and the swamp buffalo, named B. bubalis ssp. carabanesis or B. arnee ssp. carabanesis, which is found from central China southwards to Indochina and Assam in north-eastern India. Genetic studies indicate that the river buffalo was probably domesticated in India about 5,000 years ago, and the swamp buffalo probably in China about 4,000 years ago. Research has also revealed that Indus Valley traders brought water buffaloes to Mesopotamia about 2500 B.C.

Today, domesticated water buffalo are found in most hot countries of the world, and numbers may exceed 130 million. Their milk is richer and contains more fat than that of cattle, and their ability to pull the plough through rice fields surpasses that of any other animal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some Hindu gods are described on the page Religion: Hinduism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daoism is described in depth on the page Religion: Daoism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the old days, the water buffalo and the yak (see Bos grunniens above) were the best of friends. They both very much appreciated salt, but, sadly, this commodity was rather scarce. The yak volunteered to go into Tibet to look for salt, but before leaving he asked the water buffalo, if he could borrow his fur, so that he could keep warm in the fierce cold on the high Tibetan plateau. The buffalo readily agreed to this, and off the yak went, clad in a double layer of fur.

The buffalo waited and waited, but the yak never returned. Still today, the buffalo is often looking towards the high mountains in the north to see, when its friend will return with the salt and the borrowed fur.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In all editions of this poem, which I have been able to find on the internet, the poem reads, “Raising dusk and acridity of goats,” which must be a spelling mistake. How do you raise dusk? The talk must be about dust, so, humbly, I have allowed myself to correct the word.

 

 

A male goat is called a billy, or a buck, whereas a castrated male is a wether (like a castrated sheep). A female goat is a nanny or a doe. Young goats are called kids.

Over time, goats have been introduced to most areas of the globe. Its total worldwide population is estimated at one billion, about half in Asia.

It is almost unbelievable, what goats are able to digest – bone-dry grass, thorny twigs, cardboard boxes. Indeed, in northern India, I once watched a herd of goat head straight for a growth of very poisonous thorn-apples (Datura stramonium) and commence eating the fruits. Apparently, goat stomachs can neutralize the toxins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On numerous small islands around the globe, goats have often escaped (or have been released on purpose), forming feral populations, which create havoc through overgrazing. These islands are mostly without larger predators, which means that the goats have no natural enemies here. Measures have been taken to rid many of these islands of their goats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The popular name of this thin layer is desert varnish. Around the world, various prehistoric peoples have created artwork by scraping off a part of this ‘varnish’, leaving white images on a black or reddish background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Muir’s life is described on the page People: Famous naturalists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initially, sheep were raised for meat, milk, and skins, the latter utilized for warmth in the fierce winters of the Middle East.

Woolly sheep emerged in Iran around 6000 B.C., and the earliest woven clothes known are from about 4000 to 3000 B.C. Over time, various cultures, including the Persians, relied on income from trading wool.

Not long after the domestication of sheep, they were brought to other parts of Asia, and around 6000 B.C. they were also brought to Egypt via the Sinai Peninsula. They were present in Europe from about the same time.

In America, the first sheep arrived with the second voyage of Columbus in 1493, and the first sheep were brought to Australia in 1788. By 1820, there were already about 100,000 on the Australian continent, and just ten years later a million. Today, the total population worldwide is estimated at one billion.

A male sheep is called a ram, or tup, and a castrated ram is a wether. A female is called a ewe. This word is pronounced in various ways, often as ‘yo’ or ‘you’, in Scotland as ‘yow’ (rhyming on ‘how’). Young sheep are called lambs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During a stay in the Zagros Mountains in 1973, my companion Arne Koch Christoffersen and I paid a visit to a nomads’ camp. The following 5 pictures were taken during this visit, which is related on the page Travel episodes – Iran 1973: In the mountains of Luristan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Jason grows up, he travels to Iolcos to demand the throne, but is ordered first to obtain the fleece of a golden-haired, winged ram, which is kept in the land of Colchis (on the Black Sea coast, in present-day Georgia), guarded by a terrible dragon. This fleece is a symbol of royal authority, and in case Jason and his men should succeed in acquiring the fleece and bring it to him, Pelias believes that he will remain on the throne.

The quest of Jason and his men is successful, and back in Iolcos, he presents King Pelias with the Golden Fleece. Later, however, he kills him and takes over the throne.