"COWS ARE NOT GOOD MOTHERS" AND OTHER MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT COWS
"There is ample behavioral evidence that cows may possess not only a range of emotions but a level of complexity of emotions found in other mammals, who are generally recognized as being intelligent. This evidence includes play behavior and interactions between emotions and cognition in the forms of cognitive bias, emotional contagion, social buffering, and even emotional reactions to learning."
"Cows engage in all forms of play found in mammals, including playing with objects such as balls, gamboling and running, and also social play with members of other species."
"... calves prefer full physical contact with a partner over limited contact through the pen."
"A large body of research has confirmed that mother cows and calves experience strong emotional bonds that form rapidly following birth."
"An investigation of maternal bonding in dairy cattle found that mothers formed strong maternal bonds with their calves ..." "All mother cows showed signs of distress (walking around, urinating, vocalizing, butting, etc.) following separation from their calves."
"Maternal protective behavior appears to be less related to individual personality in cows than other behavioral traits (Pérez-Torres et al., 2014). This may be because maternal protectiveness of offspring is so critically important that all cows are very high in this trait."
"It is clear that cows, like other animals, have personalities ... "
"In this paper we have identified a number of findings from the scientific literature on cow learning, memory, emotions, personality, and social complexity (collectively cow psychology) showing that cows are far more sophisticated and sensitive than the simple grazers they are perceived to be by many members of our own species (Herzog, 2010; Joy, 2009).""
From "The Psychology of Cows. Lori Marino and Kristin Allen (2017)" :
https://www.animalbehaviorandcognition.org/uploads/journals/17/AB&C_2017_Vol4(4)_Marino_Allen.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawIQTaBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHc6o1NMEbnmG8av76wf7Q7Z8dlq7nULmYoeQn7kWkY5cEp75p4fyMJ3ENA_aem_4QnPE84TdjmW-kPqhvriGQ
