Author Topic: Savage Cows  (Read 10478 times)

footix2

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #15 on: 10:37:53, 14/06/11 »
I also avoids fields full of sharks ;)
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Scarface

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #16 on: 10:42:51, 14/06/11 »
And fields of lions. And tigers. And bears. Oh my !              O0
'You only get out what you put in...'

mananddog

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #17 on: 11:00:09, 14/06/11 »
And fields of lions. And tigers. And bears. Oh my !              O0

And Hephalumps and Woozles!

footix2

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #18 on: 11:02:42, 14/06/11 »
You've took that too far ;)
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Fleegle

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #19 on: 12:39:15, 14/06/11 »
And fields of lions. And tigers. And bears. Oh my !              O0

Aren't places like that Wildlife Safari Parks?     ;D
 
Joking aside, thanks to those who took the trouble to check the letter of the law out.   O0
 
It was late at night and I did say I was't sure.

guess who

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #20 on: 13:34:14, 14/06/11 »
Have I even been chased? No, because dog and I stand up to them and they back off. I have avoided cattle if they have the downhill advantage because they can't stop even if they wanted to. Sorry, I gone and done and said it  all again!

Well your experience is totally different to mine.

Last year we ended up trapped in a corner of a field with a herd of cows about 20 in all.
About ten attacked our dog. The wife, daughter and me had to run for it. Letting go of the dogs lead so he could catch us up.
This was after i stood my ground.

Only this Sunday, whilst crossing a field with cows in we had a problem.
6 of us crossing the field. Two dogs. One very small and mine a tall Springer.
The cows started to walk towards us.

I stood my ground letting the group walk away from me. The cows kept coming towards me. I then waved my arms about and moved towards them. The cows kept coming towards me and then started to run at me and the dog.
I let go of the dog and ran back to the stile i had just come over.
I then called the dog and pulled him over. With the cows now about 10ft away from him and still coming at us.

I walked away as they could still see the dog and they would not move no matter, what i did to scare them away.
I then started to get my map out. To work out how i could meet the group again. It was at this point i saw the cows moving away quite quick. Lost Again then came over the stile. They had moved when he waved his arms about.
We then went to go back through the field. Only for the cows to come towards us again. No matter what we did they would not moved as they could see the dog.

So i would say to anyone be very,very wary of cows and if they come towards you, be prepared to run like the wind.

Addacomb

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #21 on: 15:53:45, 14/06/11 »
Well your experience is totally different to mine.


Being a Canine Psychologist doesn't make me an expert in other animal psychology, although I have studied some generic concepts. That said, I was brought up on a farm and am used to being around all farm animals. I suspect that most people who have problems with cows are simply not used to being in close proximity with large animals and their main failing is projecting negative body language. I'm not inferring that cows detect fear in humans because I don't believe that they do but they, as all animals, do react to the body language of other creatures. If the human projects nervousness and fails to give an air of calm, the cow can react in a way that may surprise those who are unused to their behaviour. This can result in the cow(s) encroaching nearer than they would normally feel comfortable with due to the absence of a dominant projection.

I would add that your advice to get ready to leg it is the worst thing that you can possibly do. The cow's inquisitive mind means that they will inevitably chase the runner. If they then "bump" into you in pursuit, the human will naturally claim "attack" when it is more accurately termed a collision.
If advice is to be given I would suggest this. If traversing a field of cows and you feel nervous, then completely ignore the course of the path (and issues regarding ROW) and traverse close to the hedge or fence. Then you have a ready made escape.

I must add - the whole concept of cow behaviour is not an exact science - the recent deaths of farmers attest to that. Animals are unpredictable but you can reduce the surprise level if you study animal body language. I would like to know the circumstances involved with some of the cases of farmer fatalities. That obviously won't happen as the only witness is usually the dead farmer but it would be beneficial to know if the farmer had done something out of the ordinary to case an "attack". I know that one recent case involved a fire engine and it's siren. The cows panicked at the sound and trampled. accidentally, the farmer in question. I believe that the fire engine driver was prosecuted because there was no need for the siren at the time of the incident. I would be pretty confident that something exceptional happens in each case of a farmer getting trampled. And they're not exactly fleet-footed or agile - read clumsy great lummoxes. Don't forget also, that none of the above in this thread relates to cows "protecting" their young. That's yet another consideration where a different set of rules apply.

Where bulls are concerned you can forget body language, experience and the bull's termperament. They can turn in a second and let's not forget they are often massive and a whack with a head might not be meant with malicious intent but the human recipient can easily succumb from such a move.
« Last Edit: 16:26:26, 14/06/11 by Addacomb »

dave-harris

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #22 on: 21:26:11, 14/06/11 »
I have this fear of meeting Yeti in the middle of somewhere  ;D ;D ;D
I walk to live

bear.cub

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #23 on: 22:03:41, 14/06/11 »
while I know what to do when confronted with a bear,  ???

Are you sure now? :-\ :)
I've never known such a bear for getting in a mess. Mr Brown referencing Paddington Bear

altirando

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #24 on: 23:51:09, 14/06/11 »
Wasn't there a female VET killed last year walking her dog through a field of cows? And she must have known the breeds, probably used to working with farm animals. Not worth taking any risk - change the route or at least sidle round the edge of the field.

altirando

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #25 on: 23:59:35, 14/06/11 »
Oh, can't resist mentioning the advice on signboards about bears in Yosemite - It was based on the fact that bears have apparently realised that rucksacks/packs often contain sweet goodies. The advice was on the lines of -don't let the bear have your pack, it only encourages them.  Don't know about you, but I would be quite happy for a bear to munch my lunch whilst I made my escape. A book was serialised on our radio recently about a bear trailing a man along the Pacific beach. Apparently bears don't bother to kill their victim before they start feeding - screaming doesn't put them off.

dunc

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #26 on: 00:02:48, 15/06/11 »
I wave a packet of ready rolled pastry at em on my way over the stile.  ;D
"If this grand panorama before me is what you call God.... then God is not dead"

yeti

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #27 on: 00:04:49, 15/06/11 »
Farmers and landowners have been known to put 'beware of bull' signs up to deter walkers >:( .
I wouldn't want to advise anyone how best to scare them off, other than just be carefull.
R.I.P. Dave.

yeti

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #28 on: 00:06:25, 15/06/11 »
I wave a packet of ready rolled pastry at em on my way over the stile.  ;D
I'll bring the portable barbeque O0 .
R.I.P. Dave.

angry climber

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Re: Savage Cows
« Reply #29 on: 00:21:55, 15/06/11 »
Addacomb I know you said you were brought up on a farm and think others with less experience of animals act in the wrong way but I dont agree.
 
 This case was in 2007 at a farm close to me.
 
Jim Hastings was hit in the stomach and tossed backwards by the Limousin cow. He sustained "unsurvive-able" skull injuries after his head hit concrete at the Gallamuir dairy and beef farm in Plean, Stirlingshire, last year. Sheriff Wyllie Robertson recorded a formal determination of accidental death at Stirling Sheriff Court. The inquiry heard how Mr Hastings, 47, and farm worker Gavin Millar, 26, were trying to guide the cow into a cattle pen in the farm yard.
Mr Millar described how the cow veered off the wrong way into a nearby garage, before it was "spooked" and ran out towards the two men. He said: "It wasn't going flat out, but when it was four or five yards away it just seemed to go up three or four gears from a moderate canter to a full sprint. "It seemed to single out James and hit him in the mid section. I have no idea why it went for him because I'm much smaller. "Jim basically buckled with the force of the animal and went straight back. The minute he hit the tarmac blood just started flowing everywhere. He appeared to be completely unconscious." Mr Millar said he and his brother Iain Millar, who was also present, put Mr Hastings in the recovery position until an ambulance arrived. Mr Hastings was taken to Stirling Royal Infirmary and transferred to the head injury unit of the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.  He died the next day, 30 April 2006, of a fractured skull and associated injuries. Health and Safety Executive inspector Lawrence Murray, 57, said there was no evidence that Mr Hastings' employers had breached their duty of care. He said: "What happened was unpredictable. Normally these animals are very docile and it was not foreseeable that this could happen." Recording his determination, Sheriff Robertson praised the bravery of Mr Hastings in standing his ground in front of the charging animal. Sheriff Robertson added that the herding of the animal had been carried out "in text book fashion" and nothing could have been done to make the accident in any way foreseeable.
 
Even a well trained stockman could do nothing when the cow decided to go for him. There was no reason behind it and HSE confirmed they did nothing wrong. Animals sometimes react in a manner we can never explain.
 
   
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