Domesticated animals (cows)

[OneLargeToe]

I start wondering this on my way to work the other day....we know that, over the centuries, man has purposively bred animals to produce numerous breeds of a particular animal (i.e. dogs, cats. etc.)

I started wondering, from what did cows originate from? I know they don't exist naturally in the wild, but can't think of what animal they started from (buffalo maybe?)

Silly question perhaps, but one I found it curious.

 

[LadyShea]

The primitive cow is the Bos primigenius , Aurochs or Urus. It lived in Europe,Western Asia and Northern Africa. At about 4000 BC, it was domesticated in Schleswig-Holstein, nowadays the border between Denmark and Germany, but it disappeared in the 17 century. Its fur was of dark colour, it had a tall body with a shoulder height of 1,75m and strong and upwards pointing horns.

http://www.agr.kuleuven.ac.be/dp/I374/eurocattle/ppframe.htm

 

[font="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"]Modern domestic cattle all evolved from a single ancestor, the aurochs. It is believed that the last surviving auroch was killed in 1627 near Warsaw, Poland. The word "cattle" comes from the Old French word "chattle" which means possession. It is believed that cattle were first domesticated in Europe and Asia during the Stone Age. It is generally thought that cattle were domesticated after sheep, goats, pigs, and dogs. Remains of domesticated cattle dating to 6,500 B.C. have been found in Turkey and other sites in the near East.

http://www.cyberspaceag.com/beefcattlehistory.html[/font]

 

[Late_Cretaceous]

I recall seeing on TV many years ago that beeders using a technique they called "back breeding" managed to come up with a reasonable facsimilie of the auroch. I cannot find any reference to it, but I do remember that they had on big, mean looking bull.

 

[Praxiteles]

Originally posted by Late_Cretaceous
I cannot find any reference to it, but I do remember that they had on big, mean looking bull.

Big, mean looking bull?  Are you sure it wasn't a Hovind seminar?

Har har.

 

[npetreley]

Originally posted by Late_Cretaceous
...but I do remember that they had on big, mean looking bull.

If you ever tick-off a big, mean-looking bull, you'd better hope the ol' expression is right: "To err is human, to forgive, bovine."

 

[Praxiteles]

Originally posted by npetreley
If you ever tick-off a big, mean-looking bull, you'd better hope the ol' expression is right: "To err is human, to forgive, bovine."

Gee, Nick, that was quite a "low" one.

 

[Praxiteles]

In fact, I think cow puns are lower than any udder kind of pun...

 

[BeanMak]

I can see you are going to milk this one for all it is worth

 

[npetreley]

Milk puns for all their worth? When have I heifer? Such accusations are a load of bull - you're just trying to horn in on the action. Well, that's it for me, time to moove on. So I'll be shufflin' off to Buffalo, now...