Cattle
From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.
Cattle refers to a domesticated species of large hoofed mammals. A common error is to refer to all cattle as cows, but this is incorrect; male cattle are called bulls. Cow is the term for female cattle (as well as females of several other species). Cows usually have prominent pink breasts on their underbellies called udders. When depicted in furry art, cows usually have large breasts, sometimes with multiple nipples.
Cattle are highly social animals, bonding to their herdmates (or, particularly if isolated, to human caregivers). They engage in social grooming and play.
According C. J. C. Philips, cattle are "essentially bisexual, and both sexes frequently exhibit hetero- and homosexual behaviour. ... homosexual behaviour in cows is probably more than just a signal [of receptive cows in a herd] to bulls or man. It persists even in the presence of the bull and may serve to satiate a cow's sexual motivation over and above the attention paid to her by the bull." (p. 114).
Male/male mounting behaviour of bulls may be due to redirected aggression. "Homosexual mounting in the male [cattle] is most prevalent in a single sex group kept in stressful conditions, ... [which] suggests that the behaviour is less related to sexuality than to aggression." (p. 116-117).
Cows are not often seen in the furry fandom except in some breast-themed artwork. However, there are several popular cattle characters that can be of interest to furries, most notably the Minotaur of Greek mythology and the Tauren species from World of Warcraft.
[edit] References
- Philips, C. J. C. Cattle Behaviour. Ipswich: Farming Press Books, 1993.
