Livestock

Cattle

Also Known As Bovine

Citation Formats

General Reference

Agriculture and Farming Atlas. "Cattle." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://agriculture.interactiveatlas.org/livestock/cattle.

APA Style

Agriculture and Farming Atlas. (n.d.). Cattle. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://agriculture.interactiveatlas.org/livestock/cattle

BibTeX

@misc{agricultureandfarmingatlas-cattle,
  author = {Agriculture and Farming Atlas},
  title = {Cattle},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://agriculture.interactiveatlas.org/livestock/cattle},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The most economically important domesticated animal on Earth, bred from the now-extinct aurochs. Cattle gave farming societies milk, meat, leather, dung for fuel and fertilizer, and, for most of agricultural history, the pulling power behind the plough. About a billion and a half head are alive today.

Facts

Scientific Name

Bos taurus (taurine cattle) and Bos indicus (zebu) 1

Domestication Region

Fertile Crescent (taurine); Indus Valley (zebu) 1

Domesticated When (Circa)

circa 8500 BC from the aurochs 1

Primary Uses

Milk, meat, draft power, leather, dung fuel and fertilizer 1

Cross-Tradition Connections