There are few things in life more fearsome than a parent protecting their child.
I’d rather go up against Tyson Fury than cross a parent who wants nothing more than to keep their child safe. It’s basically number one priority in your life as soon as your offspring emerges into the world, and nothing is going to stop a parent keeping that a priority.
So when a farmer, who is also trying to look after his animals, comes up against a protective mother cow trying to look after her own calf, an impasse is created, where both beings have good intentions at heart but will not back down.
The farmer in question is trying to tag the calf, basically so he knows which herd it belongs to and identify it from all the other cows knocking around. The mother, however, has other ideas.
Check it out:
Joseph Lawyer, who filmed the protective mama cow, said:
I work on a family operation in Iowa and was making my rounds checking and tagging new calves so they didn’t get separated from their mothers. When I stopped to tag a new calf, her momma came out of nowhere. I wasn’t even able to get out of my UTV before she had me pinned in the passenger seat.
If you’re a keen walker, but don’t fancy coming head to head with a protective cow like this, the NFU offers some tips for staying safe around cattle.
They say:
Do:
• Try to avoid getting between cows and their calves.
• Be prepared for cattle to react to your presence, especially if you have a dog with you.
• Move quickly and quietly, and if possible walk around the herd.
• Keep your dog close and under effective control on a lead around cows and sheepDon’t:
• Don’t hang onto your dog. If you are threatened by cattle – let it go as the cattle will chase the dog.
• Don’t put yourself at risk. Find another way round the cattle and rejoin the footpath as soon as possible.
• Don’t panic or run. Most cattle will stop before they reach you. If they follow just walk on quietly.
Then again, if the protective mother cow really didn’t want any more human interaction, she could take a leaf out of this cow’s book, who swam away from her life on the farm to start afresh on an uninhabited island.
The cow in question refused to get on the farmer’s truck in south Poland, and instead fled on foot away from the driver and ended up swimming through nearby Lake Nysa.
The cow set up camp on one of the islands in the lake. Owner Mr Lukasz attempted to get the cow back but gave up, choosing instead to make sure it gets enough food to stay alive.
A fire crew used a boat to reach the island, only for the cow to swim 50 metres to a neighbouring peninsula. Pawel Gotowski, deputy commander of the fire brigade in Nysa, said the animal is healthy.
You go girl.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.