Cows are herbivorous mammals classified as ruminants. The animal’s scientific name is Bos Taurus. The female is called a cow and the male is called a bull. The young female is called a heifer, while the young male is called a calf.
The average weight of a steer varies according to its breed. A calf weighs between 35 and 45 kg, a cow between 500 and 900 kg and a bull between 1.2 and 1.6 tonnes.
Unlike bulls, cows are bred for their milk rather than their meat. The bull is used as a draught animal or for slaughter. Cows play an important role in herd renewal and milk production. Prim’Holstein is the world’s leading breed of dairy cow.
A cow cannot produce milk until she gives birth to a calf. A cow cannot produce milk until she gives birth to a calf. There are now almost 20 million cows in France.
The domestication of cows and bulls dates back around 10 millennia. The ancestor of cows was the aurochs, which lived mainly in Asia, Europe and North Africa. Humpback cattle are mainly found in Europe and temperate regions.
The hunchbacked ox, known as the zebu, is found in India. They can also be found on certain islands in the Indian Ocean, including Madagascar. These two species of ox are inter-fertile. They can therefore be crossed to create a hybrid breed.
In India, cows are considered sacred. In some countries, beef is even considered a symbol of wealth.
It is also central to a number of stories and legends: Theseus and the Minotaur (in Greek mythology), the worship of the golden calf (a biblical episode), the rite of the Red Cow (in the Torah), the Cow “Al-Baqarah” (Sura 2 of the Koran), the Apis bull (a bull revered by the ancient Egyptians), the Fatted Ox of Carnival, and so on.
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