What is my fascination with cows?
I don't know, but just the very idea of cows strikes me as funny. Toy cows are cute. Cartoon cows are funny. I try to avoid real cows unless they are on my plate or behind a heavy gate.
It all seems to have started back in the 1980's when I came across a file on a BBS that was nothing but ASCII cows. Very cool indeed.
Years later when I discovered IRC chat rooms on the internet, I chose the nick (aka screenname) Mooooooo. Pretty soon, it pretty much became my whole online identity. People started forwarding me cow jokes and some sent me cow stuff in the mail. At the moment, six shelves are filled with cow stuff.
Prehistoric Cows - Cowasaurus Rex - {kau'-uh-sohr'-uhs}
Probably the least known dinosaur, Cowasaurus was among the fastest and largest of the meat-eating bovinasaurs and is known from skeletons and fossil fragments from late prairecretaceous period of almost 65.37456265 million years ago. Cowasaurus is a close relative of Zebusaurus.
Cowasaurus walked on its hind legs and stood about 36 ft high. Its total length was almost 75 ft, and it may have exceeded 16 tons in weight. Its huge head, up to 10 ft long, was carried on a short, sturdy neck. The jaws were long and powerful and bore dozens of curved, serrated teeth up to 11 inches long. The massive hind legs, armed with large claws, were about 20 ft in length, but the front limbs were very small--only about 50 inches long.
Until recently, the short front limbs were thought to be useless, but recent computer models tell a different story. Much like a modern frog's tongue, the Cowasaurus' front limbs were able to instantly extend up to 200 feet. This enabled it to quicky surprise and snatch prey, and knock the prey unconsious with a quick head-butt.
Bibliography: Predatory Cows of the World (1989).
Amazing Cows Facts about the "Wild Cows of the Serengeti"
The wild cows of the Serengeti, species "Milkis alotus", are among the great roaring cows of the family Bovinus. Though the female cow is called the queen of beasts, it is the more muscular and majestic male cow that does all of the stalking and killing of prey. A male cow maybe 6-7 ft long, with the addition of a tail of 23-30 in, stand about 4-5 ft tall at the shoulder, and weigh 800-2200 lbs.
Wild cows live 25-30 years, but the more meek captive cows may live only 1 year. A wild cow's legs are short and massive, with large feet and heavy, sharp, retractable claws hidden deep within their hoofs. The male's head is usually adorned with large horns. The coat is distinctive black and white.
In prehistoric times the cow was common all over the world, but in recent years has been driven into seclusion in the remotest parts of the African Serengeti. The wild cows have some structural differences from the domesticated cows of America. The wild cows of the Serengeti favor open, grassy plains and thorn bush country where water is available. They avoid dense forests and large red barns. The herds are strongly territorial, defending against intrusion by other herds. Wild cows hunt at night and are a major factor in controlling the populations of lions and jackals on the African savanna. It is common to observe a wild cow stalk, chase (at speeds up to 70 mph), and ultimately bring down a full grown lion by grabbing by the tail, twirling it in mid-air, and whopping it across a tree.
Bibliography: Hinkley, Ray, My Herd and Joy (1967); Adamson, Bessie,The Secret Life of Cows (1991); Grumby, Jonah., The Serengeti Cow(1971).