Here is the moos... clever cows talk to each other about food and weather
WHILE they may sound much the same to anyone passing a field, cows have different moos for different moods, research shows.
Scientists can now identify more than two-thirds of cows in a happy moment – such as when they are about to be given some hay – by their moo alone.
It seems cows have their own calls, probably so they can recognise and help each other.
Alexandra Green, of the University of Sydney, led a study on cow language, saying she wants to be a ‘cow-moonicator’.
She said: ‘They have all got very distinct personalities – you have got your chatty cows, you have got your shy cows. I have one girl, she won’t shut up.
‘I’d like to say that one day we would be able to have a cow dictionary or an understanding of their whole vocal repertoire.’
Generally, if they are distressed about being away from the herd or frustrated after food is taken away, cows make a lowfrequency nasal moo. This is also the noise of choice for ‘conversations’ with nearby animals – perhaps about the weather.
When they are more excited, because food is coming or they are preparing to mate, they make a louder, open-mouthed sound. Ms Green’s team studied 333 moos from 13 heifers between June and October 2017 using computer software.
The study found 68% of excited, positive moos could be matched to the right cow. It also identified just over 60% of the more unhappy moos with the correct cow, according to the journal Scientific Reports.