The cow is a domesticated mammal, artiodactyl, with a robust body and strong legs, descended from the domestication of aurochs (Bos primigenius) approximately 10,000 years ago in the Middle East. It has a body covered with short hair of variable color (black, brown, red or white), with a neck sometimes featuring developed shoulders and a long tail ending in a tuft of hair. Today it is the most widespread and numerous bovine species, used for meat (beef), milk and as a draft animal, contributing hide and manure for various uses.
Habits
Cows live in socially organized herds, are diurnal and graze on grass, leaves, and stems, spending most of their day feeding and ruminating in compact rows to protect themselves from predators
Reproduction
Females reach sexual maturity at approximately 12 months, the gestation period lasts around 280-285 days, and they typically give birth to a single calf, which stands up and nurses as soon as it has dried off.
Distribution
Originally from the Middle East and Southern Europe, Bos taurus is now domesticated and found worldwide, present in all temperate and tropical regions of the world, with feral populations established in Australia, North America, and oceanic islands.
