Cattle, often known as cows or bulls, are big, domesticated cloven-hooved herbivores with cloven hooves. They are the most frequent species of the genus Bos and are most usually classified as Bos taurus. They are a notable contemporary member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most prevalent species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classed as Bos taurus.

Cattle are typically reared as livestock for meat (beef or veal; see beef cattle), milk (see dairy cattle), and skins for leather production. They are utilized as draft animals as well as riding animals (oxen or bullocks, which pull carts, plows, and other implements). Cattle dung is another byproduct that may be utilized to make manure or fuel. Cattle have religious significance in various areas, such as portions of India. Cattle are raised as pets, particularly tiny kinds like the Miniature Zebu.

Taurine cattle were domesticated some 10,500 years ago in Central Anatolia, the Levant, and Western Iran, from as few as 80 progenitors. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the world’s cow population is estimated to be about 1.5 billion in 2018. Cattle were one of the first farm species to have their genomes entirely sequenced in 2009.

Bos taurus, the European or “taurine” cattle (including related kinds from Africa and Asia), Bos indicus, the Indicine or “zebu,” and the extinct Bos primigenius, the aurochs, were the three species first recognized. Both zebu and taurine cattle are descended from the aurochs.

The capacity of cattle to interbreed with other closely related animals further complicates the situation. Not only can hybrid individuals and breeds occur between taurine cattle and zebu (such as the sanga cow, Bos taurus africanus), but also between one or both of these and other members of the genus Bos – yaks (the dzo or yattle), banteng, and gaur. Hybrids between taurine cattle and either species of bison, such as the beefalo breed, have led some writers to classify them as part of the genus Bos. Some hybrid origins may not be evident; for example, genetic research revealed that the Dwarf Lulu breed, Nepal’s only taurine-type cow, is a combination of taurine cattle, zebu, and yak. On the other hand, Cattle cannot effectively cross with more distantly related bovines like water buffalo or African buffalo.

Originally, the aurochs roamed Europe, North Africa, and most of Asia. Its habitat was confined to Europe in historical periods, and the last recorded individual died in Mazovia, Poland, in approximately 1627. By crossing traditional varieties of domesticated cattle, breeders have sought to produce animals with aurochs-like appearances, resulting in the Heck cattle breed.

The name “cattle” was not coined to refer to bovine creatures. It came from Anglo-Norman catel, which was derived from medieval Latin capitale ‘main quantity of money, capital,’ which was derived from Latin caput ‘head.’ Cattle historically referred to moveable personal property, such as cattle of any sort, rather than real property (land, which included wild or tiny free-roaming animals like chickens, which were sold as part of the land).

Download Cow Silhouette PNG vector transparent background images