Cows Are “Human” Too

Looking at the immobile penned-in cows in the USA, I used to not think twice about them, just thinking they were docile unintelligent creatures. But here in Australia, because of the huge expanse of the cattle stations, the cows roam freely. In that environment I was able to observe them naturally– and came to see them as the intelligent beings that they are. And from what I saw of the cows, I became impressed. And sad.

Three incidents made a substantial impression in my mind.

1 The first was when I saw a group of cows huddled together as in the picture above. As I pulled out my camera to take a picture, one cow jumped up and gave a nudge to the cow next to it. Suddenly, the whole herd of about ten jumped up and began to slowly trot away from where I stood. They moved single file. Deliberately and in order. The leader must have felt that there was imminent danger, but the herd did not mindlessly dash away helter skelter. There was an order to their hurried trot. Under leadership.

I left. After biking for several miles, which is about half an hour, I looked to my left, and the group was still in single file about a quarter mile away, trotting along what I surmised was a clear track to a clear destination. What was evident to me was that the herd did not brainlessly dash off in every direction upon the first sign of danger (me pulling out a camera), but, thirty minutes later, were still moving as a group in a mindful deliberate direction. There was thinking in the movement, especially from that of the leader cow. I was impressed.

2 The second episode came near the end of one day after I had set up camp. The spot I chose was a pleasant one, nestled among some young trees.

About an hour later, toward dusk, the daylight began to fade. I heard rustling in the bushes several hundred yards away. Suddenly a group of about 10 or so cows emerged and stood in the clearing not too far away. Then they came toward me. It looked like they wanted the spot where I was camped. The leader cow seemed insistent on having that spot, but I had already set up my tent and really didn’t want to move, either. After a short interaction, though, they calmly retreated,

However, they came back again about an hour later (it was dark by then) to check out the scene again. It really did look like they wanted the spot for some reason. But of course, I wasn’t about to move my tent at that time. So after a brief interaction, they again went back to their original spot a few hundred yards away.

That is not the end of the story. The climax came when I heard stomping of many hooves to the far side of my campsite. Another herd of cows appeared to the left. (It was quite dark, so I was unable to video this.) This must be a desired stomping ground– or whatever. What appeared to be the leader of that group approached the leader of the first group that had wanted my spot. The leader of the first group let out a very gruff moo– quite a bellow, I must say. I don’t speak cow-ese, so I have no idea what that meant. Then the two leaders nudged their noses together and moved their heads back and forth a little. And within a few minutes, both groups noisily stomped away through the bushes. The sound of their hooves slowly faded into the night, never to be seen by me again.

This incident was evidence to me that there was some kind of clear communication which the cows understood. Even with me, there was some kind of interaction, too, although I’m sure in that instance neither I or the cow really understood each other, unlike the last scene with the two cow leaders.

3 The third episode is the most heartbreaking of all. I came across a dead black cow as I rode in the morning. Looking at it, I can see it that it had just died, for the blood on the skull was still fresh. A vehicle must have slammed into it in the night or early dawn.
But a few hundred yards further back was another smaller cow. I stood at my vantage point and watched it for a long time– thirty minutes or more. It stood there still, motionless the full time. It was obviously connected in some way to the dead cow. I really don’t think we would be wrong to imagine its sadness, shock, and confusion. It was frozen like a statue.
Then it let out a wail of a moo and started to walk away. Its walk was one of sadness, and with each step, it let out a soft crying moo. I felt very sad for it, knowing full well that it had its own emotions trying to understand this tragedy. Even animals have to cope with a sudden death.

The sad thing is that I see that the end of their lives as being one of going to the slaughterhouse. It is very heartbreaking.