Animal Behavior: Cow herds are structured according to a dominance hierarchy. Each individual must yield to those above it in the hierarchy. Calves adopt their mother's status in the hierarchy. Females are often protective of their young and chase anything that threatens them. Females also share parental care within the group. Dominant males maintain this status until defeated by younger males in challenges.

Eating Habits: Domestic cows feed on grasses, stems, and other herbaceous plant material. An average cow can consume about 70kg of grass in an 8 hour day. Cows twist grasses around the tongue and cut them with their lower teeth. Domestic cows are ruminants. Ruminants have a special system of digestion which allows for the breakdown of the relatively indigestible plant material which they consume. Cows have a four chambered stomach including a rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. Grass passes through the rumen where it is mixed with specialized bacteria. From the rumen it moves to the reticulum, where it is broken down further. The partly digested food, known as cud, is regurgitated and chewed. It is then swallowed and moves into the omasum and abomasum, where digestive enzymes break it down further and nutrients are absorbed. The process of digestion takes 70-100 hours, one of the slowest passage rates of all animals. This method of digestion permits ruminants to obtain the most nutrients possible from these plant materials.

Range: Like most domestic animals, Bos taurus (domestic cow) is currently found throughout much of the world. The wild ancestors of cows were native to northern Africa, Europe, and southern Asia.

Conservation Efforts: There is some interest in conserving rapidly disappearing rare breeds and breeds that may have desirable qualities, such as Texas longhorn cattle and a number of older European breeds. However, as a species, cattle are not threatened.

Animal Facts: Domestic cows are common and can be found throughout the world. Cattle are born and raised on rangelands. Rangelands are unfertilized, uncultured, and not irrigated. Also, they must contain adequate areas for grazing.