How now brown cow?

[samhexum]

A farmyard cow in Poland has chosen freedom this winter, roaming with a herd of bison for three months after escaping its pen.

 

The reddish brown cow has been spotted following bison across corn and rapeseed fields bordering the Bialowieza Forest in eastern Poland as they forage for abandoned corn cobs and other food.

 

Rafal Kowalczyk, a bison expert who has managed to photograph the unusual sight, said the cow seems to be in good condition. That indicates that she is managing to find food, even though she is sometimes spotted on the margins of the herd. Thick fur common to her Limousin breed and the mild winter in eastern Poland so far this year have also helped her, he told The Associated Press on Thursday.

 

Kowalczyk, director of the Mammal Research Institute at the Polish Academy of Sciences, described the situation as exceptional, saying it's the first time he has witnessed a cow living among bison. But it's also dangerous to both sides.

 

If the cow mates with male bison and gets pregnant, she could die during delivery because her hybrid calf would be bigger than a normal cow calf.

 

Any offspring could also contaminate the gene pool of the tiny and endangered bison population in Poland, which became extinct in the wild after World War I and has been restored based on some captive survivors.

 

For now, the story of a rebel cow who defied the fate of the slaughterhouse to roam free with the bison is a hit on Kowalczyk's Facebook page.

 

One of his followers reposted the photo with the words: "Next time when I think that something stops me from fulfilling my dreams, I will remember the cow who became a bison."

 

But scientists will want to remove the cow from the herd by summer to prevent the risk of mating, though Kowalczyk said that won't be an easy operation.

 

"One question is whether when winter ends the cow will follow the bison into the forest, which is not the habitat that this cow knows," Kowalczyk said. "The more time she spends in the herd, the riskier it will be."

 

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.3778747.1516906829!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_750/ap-image.jpg

[+ Avalon]

When I was a boy we lived on a farm for a couple of years. My father had a cow he wanted bred. So he took her to a man who had two bulls. But the bulls would have nothing to do with the cow; they were only interested in each other! ;-))))

[+ nycman]

I only like purple cows....

[+ purplekow]

I only like purple cows....

Well I am even purpler now, blushing. You honor me sir.

[+ Awwshuck]

I'm often mistaken for a farmyard cow.

[+ Travis69]

I'm often mistaken for a farmyard cow.

99.9% of the time to be exact.

[rvwnsd]

I only like purple cows....

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. Sooner, perhaps, but not better.

 

Thanks, @nycman

[+ sync]

Maybe the cow is just a slut...not that there is anything wrong with that.

[+ purplekow]

Maybe the cow is just a slut...not that there is anything wrong with that.

I beg your pardon, slut shaming cows is considered a federal offense in cow country.

[samhexum]

I beg your pardon, slut shaming cows is considered a federal offense in cow country.

 

That's udderly ridiculous! :D

[Edward]

Samhexum - congratulations, you know your cow breeds. A limousine is a French bread. Naturally lean (meat). Very efficient in motabolism. The offspring would most likely be sterile.

[samhexum]

Bill Gates is planning to pump $40 million into a scheme to create a “super cow” that can produce more milk.

 

The Microsoft billionaire wants to take genes from British cattle and infuse them with DNA from African breeds to create a cow that can thrive anywhere.

 

British Holstein-Friesians produce 40 pints of milk a day on average while African cows can only make three and a half — but they can survive the heat and eat much less food.

 

Gates said: “Livestock is magical. You can sell the output and that’s money for school fees. You can keep the output and that’s diet diversification.”

 

“For more than a billion people living in the poorest countries, agriculture and livestock are a lifeline out of poverty. The science and research being led by the great minds here in Edinburgh are making huge strides in improving the health and productivity of livestock.”

 

Scientists at Edinburgh University will also use software to develop vaccines to save cows hit with disease in tropical regions in research partly funded by the Department for International Development.

 

Bill, worth an estimated $90 billion, added: “The impact per dollar is super-high in this area.”

 

“You can have a cow that is four times as productive with the same survivability. We could justify this on economic or health impacts — but we get both.”

 

The billionaire set up the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help rid the developing world of poverty.

[+ purplekow]

Can they make their methane passage less toxic to the environment while they are at it.