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Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows (though technically cow refers only to female bovines), are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat (called beefand veal), dairy products(milk, leather and as draught animals (pulling carts, plowsand the like). In some countries, such as India they are honored in religious ceremonies and revered. It is estimated that there are 1.3 billion cattle in the world today.[1]

[edit] Species of cattle
Cattle were originally identified by Carolus Linnaeus as three separate species. These were Bos taurus, the European cattle, including similar types from Africa and Asia; Bos indicus, the zebu; and the extinct Bos primigenius, the aurochs. The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and European cattle. More recently[verification needed) these three have increasingly been grouped as one species, with Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus and Bos primigenius primigenius as the subspecies.
Complicating the matter is the ability of cattle to interbreed with other closely related species. Hybrid individuals and even breeds exist, not only between European cattle and zebu but also with yaks(called a dzo), banteng gaur, and bison ("cattalo"), a cross-genera hybrid. For example, genetic testing of the Dwarf Lulu breed, the only humpless "Bos taurus-type" cattle in Nepal, found them to be a mix of European cattle, zebu and yak.[2] Cattle cannot successfully be bred with water buffaloor African buffao
The aurochs was originally spread throughout Europe, North Africa, and much of Asia. In historical times, their range was restricted to Europe, and the last animals were killed by poachers in Masovia Poland, in 1627. Breeders have attempted to recreate cattle of similar appearance to aurochs by careful crossing of domesticated cattle breeds, creating the Heck cattle breed. (See aurochsand zebu articles for more information.)
[edit] Terminology
[edit] Word origin
Cattle did not originate as a name for bovine animals. It derives from the Latin caput, head, and originally meant movable property, especially livestock of any kind.[3] The word is closely related to "chattel" (a unit of personal property) and "capital" in the economic sense.[4][5]
Older English sources like King James Version of the Bible refer to livestock in general as cattle (as opposed to the word deer which then was used for wild animals). Additionally other species of the genus Bos are sometimes called wild cattle. Today, the modern meaning of "cattle", without any other qualifier, is usually restricted to domesticated bovines.
[edit] Types of cattle


A Hereford bull
An intact adult male is called a "bull." An adult female who has had more than one or two calves (depending on regional usage) is called a "cow." The adjective applying to cattle in general is usually "bovine." Young cattle are called calves until they are weaned, then weaners until they are a year old in some areas, in other areas, particularly with beef cattle, they may be known as feeder-calves or simply feeders. After that, they are referred to as "yearlings" if between one and two years of age, or by gender: A young female before she has had a calf of her own is called a "heifer" [6][7] (pronounced /ˈhɛfər/, "heffer"). A young female that has had only one calf is occasionally called a "first-calf heifer." An older (usually over 500 kg) castrated male is called a "bullock" in the British Isles and Australasia, though the term refers to a young bull in North America. The term "steer" is generally used to denote a young castrated male, unless kept for draft purposes, in which case it is called an "ox" (plural "oxen". In North America, draft cattle are called "working steers" until they are 4 years of age, at which time the term "oxen" applies). In the USA, though the term "steer" is used as the generic term for a castrated male, in the extremely uncommon situation where an animal is castrated as an adult, the term "stag" is technically correct, though rarely used.[8] Many other large animal species, including whales, hippopotamuses, camels, elk, and elephants, use the terms "bull", "cow" and "calf" to denote males, females, and young within the species.
[edit] Dilemma about singular terminology
Cattle is both a plural and a mass noun, but there is no singular equivalent: it is a plurale tantum Thus one may refer to "three cattle" or "some cattle", but not "one cattle". There is no universally used singular equivalent in modern English to "cattle", other than the gender and age-specific terms such as cow, bull, steer, heifer, and so on.
Strictly speaking, the singular noun for the domestic bovine was "ox": a bull is a male ox and a cow is a female ox.[citation needed However, "ox" today is rarely used in this general sense. An ox today generally denotes a draught beast, most commonly a castrated male (but is not to be confused with the unrelated wild musk ox.


A Brahmancalf
"Cow" has been in general use as a singular for the collective "cattle" in spite of the objections of those who point out that it is a female-specific term, rendering phrases such as "that cow is a bull" absurd. However, it is easy to use when a singular is needed and the gender is not known, as in "There is a cow in the road". Further, any herd of fully mature cattle in or near a pasture is statistically likely to consist mostly of cows, so the term is probably accurate. Other than the few bulls needed for breeding, the vast majority of male cattle are castrated as calves and slaughtered for meat before the age of three years. Thus, in a pastured herd, any calves or herd bulls usually are clearly distinguishable from the cows due to distinctively different sizes and clear anatomical differences.
Colloquially, more general non-specific terms may denote cattle when a singular form is needed. Australian, New Zealand and British farmers use the term "beast" or "cattle beast". "Bovine" is also used in Britain. The term "critter" is common in the western United States and Canada, particularly when referring to young cattle. In some areas of the American South (particularly the Appalachian region), where both dairy and beef cattle are present, an individual animal was once called a "beef critter", though that term is becoming archaic.
[edit] Other terminology
Obsolete terms for cattle include "neat" (this use survives in "neatsfoot ol", extracted from the feet and legs of cattle), and "beefing" (young animal fit for slaughter).
Cattle raised for human consumption are called "beef cattle". Within the beef cattle industry in parts of the United States, the term "beef" (plural "beeves") is still used in its archaic sense to refer to an animal of either gender. Cows of certain breeds that are kept for the milk they give are called "dairy cos" or "milking cows" (formerly "milch cows" – "milch" was pronounced as "milk"). Most young male offspring of dairy cows are generally sold for veal, and may be referred to as veal calves. In some places, a cow kept to provide milk for one family is called a "house cow".
An onomatopoeia imitating one of the commonest sounds made by cattle is "moo", and this sound is also called lowing. There are a number of other sounds made by cattle, including calves bawling and bulls bellowing (a high-pitched yodeling call). The bullroarer makes a sound similar to a territorial call made by bulls.
[edit] Biology
Cattle have one stomach, with four compartments. They are the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum, the rumen being the largest compartment. Cattle sometimes consume metal objects which are deposited in the reticulum, the smallest compartment, and this is where hardware disease occurs. The reticulum is known as the "Honeycomb." The omasum's main function is to absorb water and nutrients from the digestible feed. The omasum is known as the "Many Plies." The abomasum is most like the human stomach; this is why it is known as the "True Stomach