City boy checking in.
So, this one time out on a hike in a semi-rural area, the trail opened out on a grassy riverbank kind of place, and there were a dozen or so cows between me and the path onwards.
Now, I mostly grasp which end of a cow the grass goes in, but that’s about my limit; I have no real idea how they operate IRL.
I ended up carefully edging my way past them and gave them as much space as I possibly could, and got extremely stared at by all of them, who probably thought I was nuts.
Just out of curiosity - how careful did I need to be? Can you just like walk through the middle of them, or would that be asking for trouble?
Yes. They might follow you, but that’s mostly out of curiosity and the fact that you’re tall enough to be their leader. Sometimes they might even run at you, but that’s mostly just to catch up and/or get closer - They’re not charging at you. Stop, turn around, and T-pose, and they’ll stop as well, waiting to see what you’re up to.
Cows alone are pretty chill and playful. Think of them like huge dogs, but without the instinct for hunting. If there are young ones with them you wanna give them some extra space for obvious reasons.
Source: Grew up on a cattle farm.
Glad to hear t-pose is the way to go. I’m beginning to think it’s the solution to the world’s problems.
I was helping out at a farm when I was in my preteens, and was rushed by a docile cow that loved being scratched behind her ears. I had petted and scratched her, and when I went to leave the paddock, she rushed me and almost impaled me with one of her horns. Since then I only have one working kidney.
Cows are big, strong and heavy, and docile dogs can also kill. Any kind of caution around things large or feisty enough to kill you is healthy.
https://youtu.be/bnI_Y8PyTHM is an interesting perspective on cowology.
Cows, yes. Bulls, no.
Cows’ll usually retreat from people. Or if they’re curious, they’ll approach but not too close.
Just don’t walk behind them, or they might try to kick you.
Bulls are territorial. Stay the fuck away from 'em.
Just don’t walk behind them, or they might try to kick you.
This is really good advice for basically every animal with hooves. They mostly have a blind spot directly behind, like horses:
If you walk up behind them inside that blind spot and then move out to either side and suddenly appear in their vision, they’ll react defensively, usually by trying to kick you with their hind legs.
Basically if you can’t see the animal’s eyes then assume it can’t see you, and stay out of kicking range.
What they say for horses is that if you’re going to walk behind one, stay just behind it. That way if it does decide to kick you, the legs won’t be able to build up momentum and will be mostly vertical before hitting you. Under no circumstance walk 1-2m behind it, you can die if it hits you in the head.
Apply at your own risk to cows.
was kicked in the head like this once. Flew a meter into the wall
I was too. I surbibed with tribial blain dablage.
Nah, I got kicked in the ribs. Hurts like a motherfucker.
+1 on this. Hiker+Trail-Runner here. So I sometimes encounter cows on high mountain passes where taking a detour can mean hours of delay. But after getting kicked like that once, I am very careful around herds, esp. when they have young ones / horns (as they often do grassing on mountains) / bulls in the mix.
Id be a bit careless to say they are a hundred percent harmless but over all they are really shy and cerous creatures id probably say you were being just as shy and careful about them as they were being towards you so yeah they have the strength and weight to crush you and rip you apart but they at most accidentally use that capability bulls on the other hand as far as I’m informed are kinda like 100 ton dogs
Country boy here - cows are pretty harmless most of the time if you leave them alone, they might wander over to have a look, but they’re usually pretty docile. If you don’t want them near you, clapping your hands or making yourself big with your arms and shouting usually makes them go away. I will say that you should absolutely not approach them if there are calves nearby and bulls in general are typically more aggressive, but if you keep a safe distance you should be fine
In addition to the other comments here: Don’t run near cows. Quite often, they will start running with you, which is very impressive and dangerous at the same time. Cows generally are faster than you for the first few hundred meters at least.
Apparently they are the UK’s deadliest animal
That’s why we take no chances and mow them down with blue light vehicles.
Wow. Just wow.
I never had a problem with walking around cows as a kid and I did it pretty often. Visitors would get spooked occasionally because cows love to follow you and see what you’re up to, but I never got chased or anything. That was beef cattle country though so these cows were mainly cows (female) and steers (castrated males). I’ve heard that some bulls could be territorial however so your mileage may vary if one is around - the couple I’ve walked around were fine but your chances of issues are higher with them.
This reminded me of a time I went up and petted a cow and it turned and gave me the most wide-eyed horrified stare I’ve ever seen. I felt bad.
Extremely safe - just be careful about where your feet are if you’re next to them. More people than you’d think have lost or seriously injured a foot because a cow or, especially, a draft horse, can’t see where they’re stepping.
If you get a chance and it’s just cows then go up and say hi, they’re wonderful animals and unbelievaby chill. I’d honestly be more comfortable petting a strange cow then a strange cat… if they shy away or noticeably get irritated when you approach be smart and give them space, but you’re probably just going to get licked and mooed at.
Paraglider pilot here, so I landed among the cow my fair share of times.
Cows are curious but shy, if you walk slowly they might come to have a look, if they get too close, something like clapping your hands is enough to have them running away. However, if the farmer didn’t took the veals the yet, they can be pretty agressive to protect their kids, in that case forgot what I said about “clapping your hand” and stay away from the herd. Note also that bull are less shy than cow.
“The veals”
I think they’re called calf’s until they leave the abattoir.
bull are less shy
That’s right; I have to hype myself up to get in the right mindset though.
As the UK’s deadliest animal, cows attack between three and four thousand people every year.
An expert has revealed this figure may continue to rise. Between 2018 and 2022, more than 30 people were killed by cows, according to the UK Government’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/killer-cows-named-uks-most-30956262
To be fair though, there are way more cows than crocodiles, snakes, sharks or deadly spiders in the UK.
Deadliest other animal. There were 602 homicides in England and Wales in 2022/23.
From my understanding, you are pretty safe as long as you don’t provoke them (walking through the middle of them might be considered provoking) or near their calves. This article from the UK states “Where recorded, 91% of HSE reported fatalities on the public were caused by cows with calves”. Basically, mothers with a child are going to be very protective.
Cows are a domesticated creature, so they are generally docile, but I would exercise caution because if need be they will use their mass and strength against you. I’ve heard of stories of farmers running from cows and narrowly escaping under a fence. Most of these did involve a farmer trying to separate a calve from it’s mother. I’ve also heard stories of cows jumping fences.
And as far as memes go:
If there was a calf or bull around I wouldn’t walk through.
You can yell at them and they might disperse. If they don’t then you’d be able to walk through them.
Cows just don’t like to be startled, that’s about it.
Where would you come across a bull though? I’ve never seen one in a field with cows.
It really depends on what breed and how they were raised. In the Alps, there are almost anually reports of wanderers being attacked or even killed by cows. They often are with their calves for a longer time, are less accustomed to (strange) people and usually a fully intact male is in the heard that can get really protective.
Approach them with caution, watch their behaviour closely and use common sense. That’s what I do and for me that works.
I had quite the opposite experience in the alps, we have hiked within meters cows because the heard was laying and standing on the path. I have never seen very young calves or bulls on the mountains.
