Wild Cows as We Know Them Never Existed

Most pet owners have at some point wondered, "How would you have ever made it in the wild?" when they looked at their dog or cat. Of course, domestic animals are not bred to survive in the wild. Cows are no different; they are the product of many generations of selective breeding for characteristics that essentially render them unsuited for life in the wild. Actually, since there have never been really wild cows, it is quite unlikely that cows will ever survive in the wild.

The animals we raise for beef today are descended from animals like oxen and aurochs, who were the closest animals like cows in the wild that have ever lived, albeit they are still not cows. The work of domesticating cows from their wild cousins was enormous and incredibly challenging. There are 1.3 billion cattle in existence today, all of which are derived from just 80 tamed animals from 10,500 years ago. They were raised to become a far more docile and controllable animal.