Moo To You

Muuuuuuuuca, originally uploaded by ewanr.

My middle child ask this question today during dinner and here is some information I found:

Q: Can a cow jump??? My friend claimed a cow jumped a couple of feet in the air. I think not!! (Dan, Southampton, England)

A: Can a cow jump two or three feet? "Easy," emails veterinarian Jeffery W. Tyler, professor and clinical research director at the University of Missouri at Columbia.

Though they "not as high or as far as more athletic animals", still cattle jump, notes Tyler. Perhaps they share anatomy with their closest cousins: antelopes, gazelles, goats and sheep — renowned jumpers all.

• Not only can they jump but they can clear a six foot corral fence. We were vaccinating a herd of Santa Gertrudis [a Brahman-short-hair cross] several years ago and by the end of the third day the cows were not exactly amiable to the idea of going through the chute to get their shots. One escaped through the fence, and then jumped the next fence near me. Not only did it jump the fence but it completely cleared it, and the cow weighed well over 1000 lbs. I was a meat cutter at the time living on a 300-acre ranch. I know what cattle weigh, since meat cutting was my profession for twelve years.

Steve Anderson, Wenatchee, Washington

• Yes, cows can jump and do so regularly. They tend to get excited when fed, frolicking in the field, penned in close quarters (such as a loading chute) or fed a treat. Normally, they only jump three feet but will go to extremes when chasing food, water, something that they enjoy or running from a threat. I've had them jump, and hang themselves over the gate, on a cattle trailer or jump over ditches at feeding time.

They will also "celebrate" after feeling bad, such as being afflicted with bloat (gas), which will also make them walk backwards, depending on which of their stomachs is bloated.

Ray Fisher, Albuquerque, New Mexico

• As a dairy veterinarian, I can tell you most assuredly that cows can jump, run, kick (hard), and sometimes even dance. I have witnessed cows clear a four foot fence on more than one occasion. The phrase 'the grass is always greener on the other side' actually comes from cows jumping fences to get into the next pasture and the 'greener' grass.

Michael Betts, Hilmar, California

• We have raised cows, and cows mostly buck. But we did have a cow with unusually long legs and, when we tried to corral her, she managed to jump over a five-foot wooden slat fence. She didn't even damage or knock down any of the fence. So, yes, cows can jump.

Bernice, Battle Ground, Clark County, Washington