Cows Have Best Friends
In this week’s Mid-Week Mini Episode, we talk about how cows have best friends.
Have you ever had that one friend? The one you always sit next to at lunch. The one you text first. The one who makes everything better just by standing nearby.
Cows have that too.
Researchers studying dairy herds have found that cows actually form close social bonds – and they have preferred companions. Not just “whoever’s in the pasture today.” Specific cows.
In a 2011 study out of the University of Northampton, scientists monitored heart rates and cortisol levels – that’s a stress hormone – in cows placed in new environments. When cows were separated from their preferred partner, their heart rates increased. Their stress levels rose. But when reunited with their chosen buddy? Calm. Steady. Comfortable.
They relaxed faster when their best friend was there.
And it’s not just one quirky experiment. Observations across herds consistently show cows grazing side-by-side with the same individuals, grooming each other, and choosing to lie down near specific companions. They form small social circles inside the larger herd. Cliques, if you will. A bovine brunch squad.
If you’ve ever seen two cows standing in a field, leaning gently against each other like they’re sharing secrets about the farmer – that’s not random. That’s relationship.
And it makes sense. Cows are highly social animals. In natural herd structures, they build long-term bonds. They remember individuals. They establish hierarchies. They even show signs of distress when separated from close companions.
In other words, they’re not just livestock.
They’re introverts with a bestie.
And here’s the part that always gets me – the implications.
If cows form friendships, experience stress when separated, and calm down when reunited… that means emotional attachment isn’t some rare, exclusively human superpower.
It’s biological. It’s ancient. It’s survival.
We evolved to need connection. And apparently, so did Bessie.
So the next time you’re feeling better because your favorite person walked into the room – just know, somewhere in a pasture, two cows are having that exact same moment.
And honestly? That’s beautiful.
The internet says it’s true.
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