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?
Not really, man. Cows are like people, some of them are just assholes. Cows kill hundreds of people every year. If you don’t know a cow’s temperament, don’t put yourself where it can kill you.
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.
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.
Glad to hear t-pose is the way to go. I’m beginning to think it’s the solution to the world’s problems.
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
Cows kills more people each year than sharks.
I mean when did you ever here of a cow killing a shark.
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.
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.
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
Deadliest other animal. There were 602 homicides in England and Wales in 2022/23.
To be fair though, there are way more cows than crocodiles, snakes, sharks or deadly spiders in the UK.
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.
We used to rent our farmland to the neighbors for their cows and horses. We would periodically have to go out there and do work on fences and the barn and stuff. I was always told that horses are not to be trusted, but the cows are probably fine.
Take that information and do with it as you will.
(also keep an eye out for where you’re stepping)
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.
Adding to what the other comments have already said: Don’t bring an unleashed dog on a cow pasture. You’d think that’s common sense, but apparently it’s a bit of a meme in Austria and Switzerland that every few months some German get’s trampled by cows because their totally friendly dog ran towards the cows and they felt threatened.
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.
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
