Cows are as
diverse as cats, dogs, and people: Some are bright; others are slow learners.
Some are bold and adventurous; others are shy and timid. Some are friendly and
considerate; others are bossy and devious.
According to
research, cows are generally very intelligent animals who can remember things
for a long time. Animal behaviorists have found that cows interact in socially
complex ways, developing friendships over time and sometimes holding grudges
against other cows which treat them badly.
These gentle
giants mourn the deaths of and even separation from those they love, even
shedding tears over their loss. The mother-calf bond is particularly strong,
and there are countless reports of mother cows who continue to frantically call
and search for their babies after the calves have been taken away and sold to
veal or beef farms.
Brainy Bovines
Research has shown
that cows clearly understand cause-and-effect relationships—a sure sign of
advanced cognitive abilities. For example, cows can learn how to push a lever
to operate a drinking fountain when they're thirsty or to press a button with
their heads to release grain when they're hungry. Researchers have
found that not only can cows figure out problems, they also, like humans, enjoy
the intellectual challenge and get excited when they find a solution.
Pecking orders
aren’t just for chickens
A herd of cows is
very much like a pack of wolves, with alpha animals and complex social
dynamics. Each cow can recognize more than 100 members of the herd, and social
relationships are very important to them. Cows will consistently choose leaders
for their intelligence, inquisitiveness, self-confidence, experience, and good
social skills, while bullying, selfishness, size, and strength are not
recognized as suitable leadership qualities.
Raising cows in
unnatural conditions, such as crowded feedlots, is very stressful to them
because it upsets their hierarchy. University of Saskatchewan researcher Jon
Watts notes that cows who are kept in groups of more than 200 on commercial
feedlots become stressed and constantly fight for dominance. (Feedlots in
America hold thousands of cows at a time.)
Cow don’t want to
die
Like all animals,
cows value their lives and don't want to die. Stories abound of cows which have
gone to extraordinary lengths to fight for their lives.
A cow named Suzie
was about to be loaded onto a freighter bound for Venezuela when she turned
around, ran back down the gangplank, and leaped into the river. Even though she
was pregnant (or perhaps because she was pregnant), she managed to swim all the
way across the river, eluding capture for several days. She was rescued by PETA
(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and sent to a
sanctuary.
When workers at a
slaughterhouse in Massachusetts went on break, Emily the cow made a break of
her own. She took a tremendous leap over a 5-foot gate and escaped into the
woods, surviving for several weeks during New England's snowiest winter in a
decade, cleverly refusing to touch the hay put out to lure her back to the
slaughterhouse.
When she was
eventually caught by the owners of a nearby sanctuary, public outcry demanded
that the slaughterhouse allow the sanctuary to buy her for one dollar. Emily
lived out the rest of her life in Massachusetts until she died of cancer in
2004. Her life is a testament to the fact that eating meat means eating animals
who don't want to die.
