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What are they? -

Bovidae is an animal family that contains all sorts of cow-like animals. The name comes from the Latin bos, which means ox.

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Which ones? -

The list of bovids is extensive–there are 143 species. The most important ones you should know about are domestic cattle, goats, antelopes, buffalos, bison, and sheep.

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Ruminate - The way bovids digest is very different from humans. The process is called rumination. For humans, this means we think deeply about something. For bovidae, it means they ferment their food.

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Stomach - In the front of their stomach, bovids ferment their food. Then they regurgitate it and eat it again to finish the digestion process.

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Vegetarian - All bovids are herbivores, but their kind of vegetarianism isn’t so good for the environment because their digestion processes cause them to release methane. This can be avoided by feeding them special food.

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Old - Bovidae is an old animal family. They evolved in the Miocene period (23-5.3 million years ago). Scientists suspect that it was their unique way of digesting food that led to their evolutionary success.

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Hooves - All bovids have cloven hooves. This means that their hooves grow evenly out of two toes.

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Toes - Next to the hooves, bovids actually have two other toes. These are called dewclaws and are almost never used.

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Horns - All male bovids have horns. Unlike antlers, horns are made from bone in the middle and covered in keratin, the material your nails are made of. Many females also have horns.

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Activity - Bovids are diurnal animals, which means that they are active in the day. Their most social times are at dusk and dawn.

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Communication - Depending on the species, bovids usually rely on sound and smell to communicate with each other. For example, some put down dung to mark their territory, and we are all familiar with the domestic cow’s “mooooo.”

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Relationships - The majority of the bovine family are polygynous. This means that every male has several female partners, but the female will only have one for her whole life.

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Differences - In polygynous species, males grow much larger in most aspects and the females are almost always weaker. In monogamous species, there is less general dimorphism.

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Horns - It's been found that species that are polygynous have large, elaborate horns, whereas those that are monogamous have smaller horns.

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Producers - Bovids are one of the greatest resources for humans. Butter, cheese, wool, leather, milk, meat, and so on all come from them. Humans would not have the civilization they have today without bovids.

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Teeth - Bovids do not really have any top teeth. Instead, they have a dental pad. It is a thick pad of tissue that can grip grass while the bottom teeth tear it up.

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Baby bovids - Bovids mate at least once a year during a specific mating season. The season often depends on the temperature of their surroundings.

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Life - Just as with humans, males tend to live shorter lives than females. This is because they are more apt to get into fights, they are larger and so may be nutritionally deficient, and are more likely to be predated.

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Cow tipping -

You may have heard of cow tipping. It is the act of going up to a cow and pushing it over. But it's a myth, so please do not try it! Cows are far too heavy to do so successfully anyway. 

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Sight - Despite the fact that matadors wear red, all bovids are colorblind. So red actually mean nothing to them.

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Scent - Cows and some other bovid species can smell up to six miles (9.6 km) away in order to sense danger.

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American bison - American bison are the largest mammal in North America. They can weigh up to 2,000 pounds (907 kg).

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Ankole- Watusi cow - This American cow, derived from central African cattle, has ginormous horns in order to lose heat. Its temperature is lowered by dispersing the heat through its horns.

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Belgian Blue - Through experimentation and selective breeding, the Belgian Blue cow has developed 20% more muscle than normal cows, hence its odd shape.

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Gemsbok - This beautiful bovid comes from the Kalahari desert in East Africa. They have to deal with super high temperatures, but do not want to lose water through sweat. They let their body temperature rise to 45°C (113°F) and then cool down in the evening.

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Migration -

Wildebeest, a kind of bovid that lives in Africa, undertake a crazy journey every year. Herds of them move in a circle from 500 to 1,000 miles (805 to 1,610 km) in circumference.

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Highland cattle - One of the most distinctive bovids is the highland cow. It is known for its shaggy coat and fun colors. Apparently, Queen Victoria liked the red breed the most and so they were selectively bred to keep the color prominent.

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The musk ox -

The Greenlandic bovid is also called the Umimmak. It is known as the musk ox because, during the mating season, the males let out a smelly stench to attract the females.

Sources: (Britannica) (Animal Diversity Web)

See also: Heartwarming images of calves

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