🐄 Cattle

Cattle are a group of large bovid ruminants which in this reference includes the cow and its relatives: zebu, buffalo, yak and mithun. Together they provide the vast majority of the world’s milk: according to the FAO, about 81% comes from cows and about another 15% from buffalo.

The domestic cow descends from the wild aurochs. Traditionally, humpless European cattle (Bos taurus) and humped zebu (Bos indicus) are distinguished, and they interbreed freely. According to the FAO, some lists count up to a thousand cattle breeds, yet about 35% of the world’s dairy cows — some 70 million head — are Holstein-Friesians, which, as the FAO notes, is not ideal for biodiversity.

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is a separate genus, especially important in South Asia. The yak (Bos grunniens) is adapted to high mountains, and the mithun (Bos frontalis) to the mountain forests of north-east India and neighbouring countries. The milk of all these animals differs above all in fat content: from 3.5–4% in cows to 7–9% in buffalo and mithun.