Mad cow! How to deal with aggressive cattle?

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RunsWithBees
RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
On a 5 mile hike/trail run last week I almost got stampeded by some aggressive cattle that came out of nowhere! There are often cows grazing in the open spaces and regional parks where I run, never had an issue before. These must have come over a hill right as I ran by (maybe I startled them?) usually the cattle are very indifferent to people passing by, but I didn’t see them at all until I heard some noise behind me, turned and saw about a dozen of them running about 10 feet behind me and closing in quickly. I veered off the trail to let them pass but their “leader” was especially aggressive and followed me and charged straight at me. Adrenaline is an amazing thing, I kept running and there was an old fallen tree nearby so I climbed up it and out of reach. They all seemed to be young cows, like sub-adults with no horns, they gathered around me and circled me for awhile, the leader came up to where I was perched on the log and looked at me for a long time. I moved from one side of the log to another and it also went from one side to the other to stare me down. I just stayed out of reach, avoided eye contact and tried my best to look like a vegan 🥺 After about 15 minutes they left. Of course, I had a big juicy burger for my post-workout meal, but yea that was scary! 😅

Does anyone know why the leader targeted me? I’ve been running in these hills for 5 years and the cows are usually quite docile. If I hadn’t had that fallen tree to climb on, would they have continued to charge and trample me? (I’m thinking: yes!) Were they only “playing”? How are you supposed to handle a situation like this? I know what to do about wild animals like mountain lions, coyotes and such... but cows? And a whole (mini) herd of them? Do I run in zig-zag patterns or what? Is spring just the time of year that they are most aggressive? Any info or insights would be greatly appreciated, although this experience will absolutely not deter me from returning to my beloved hills to hike and run because for me the benefits still far outweigh the risks 😁
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Replies

  • frankiesgirlie
    frankiesgirlie Posts: 667 Member
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    They must have smelled your meat diet in your sweat. Cows are funny like that, the don’t like getting eaten.😂
  • frankiesgirlie
    frankiesgirlie Posts: 667 Member
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    Also, is that the Monkees? As in heh, heh were the monkees? Dating myself.
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
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    frankiesgirlie wrote: »
    Also, is that the Monkees? As in heh, heh were the monkees? Dating myself.

    Yup, I grew up on the old reruns and still a fan 😊
  • 1BlueAurora
    1BlueAurora Posts: 439 Member
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    Well, where I come from the cows start giving birth sometime between February and April. Don't know how aggressive a pregnant cow can be, but those with calves might want to chase people/dogs away from where they are. Those mama cows are very protective of their babies! Don't know what else you should have done. :Some folks say to just stay calm and quietly move away, but it sounds like you tried that. Congrats on not getting trampled!
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
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    1BlueAurora wrote: »
    Well, where I come from the cows start giving birth sometime between February and April. Don't know how aggressive a pregnant cow can be, but those with calves might want to chase people/dogs away from where they are. Those mama cows are very protective of their babies! Don't know what else you should have done. :Some folks say to just stay calm and quietly move away, but it sounds like you tried that. Congrats on not getting trampled!

    Thanks! They seemed to be sub-adults so I doubt they were pregnant. I am aware about the mama cows protecting their babies and always give those a wide berth. Heck I give all the cows a wide berth! It’s just that I did not see these until they were running behind me when I was already running myself. Felt like I was participating in the Pamplona “Running of the Bulls” 😓 There was no time to be calm/quietly move away, thank goodness for adrenaline, I climbed that tree on pure instinct 😅
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
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    Oh, and I wasn’t wearing any bright colors either... navy blue leggings and dark gray T-shirt if that matters to cows 🤷‍♀️
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
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    earlnabby wrote: »
    monkeefan1974 wrote: »
    Oh, and I wasn’t wearing any bright colors either... navy blue leggings and dark gray T-shirt if that matters to cows 🤷‍♀️

    They can't see color. The "red flag in front of a bull" thing is just a myth.

    Oh, good to know! I thought I heard somewhere that the color yellow could get them excited, that’s why bull fighters have a yellow lining inside the red fabric 🤷‍♀️ I didn’t know they were totally color blind.
  • BarbellCowgirl
    BarbellCowgirl Posts: 1,271 Member
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    Another vote for them thinking you were coming to feed them. Our cows have always come running when they see people. People = food. They’ll definitely run after us and even be a bit pushy with my kids.
    I’ve seen particularly mean individual cattle charge people(usually something going on with a mean cow/bull/steer- they’ve been mistreated, haven’t been exposed to humans, or are just feeling their hormones 😜)
    But to have a whole herd come running after you sounds like they thought it was feeding time. More than likely you came through at dinner time. They’re funny about their meal time routines.
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
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    Nokt2018 wrote: »
    They might have thought that you had some grain or salt for them. I grew up on a farm and we pastured cattle during the summer. When we would show up, they were all excited to see us.
    BarbellCowgirl wrote: »
    Another vote for them thinking you were coming to feed them. Our cows have always come running when they see people. People = food. They’ll definitely run after us and even be a bit pushy with my kids.
    I’ve seen particularly mean individual cattle charge people(usually something going on with a mean cow/bull/steer- they’ve been mistreated, haven’t been exposed to humans, or are just feeling their hormones 😜)
    But to have a whole herd come running after you sounds like they thought it was feeding time. More than likely you came through at dinner time. They’re funny about their meal time routines.

    Wow this did not even occur to me, good to know! 😮
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
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    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    Well at least that got you moooving.

    🤣🤣🤣
    But I was already running tho! I have to admit the adrenaline rush was interesting, I was running and scrambling up that fallen tree but I didn’t feel my body at all, weird!
  • texasredreb
    texasredreb Posts: 541 Member
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    Cows are curious sentient beings.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    Maybe the saw you running and it looked like fun.

    We had cows that when they would see the dog run they would start running too.
  • h7463
    h7463 Posts: 626 Member
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    That is funny! They were probably just in the mood to cause trouble. I can usually walk across our field without the cows paying attention. The bull on the other hand, that's a different story...
    My advise: Take your mobile phone with you, and pick a trail where you can be sure that you get a cell signal while you're sitting in the trees.... :D
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    edited April 2019
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    h7463 wrote: »
    That is funny! They were probably just in the mood to cause trouble. I can usually walk across our field without the cows paying attention. The bull on the other hand, that's a different story...
    My advise: Take your mobile phone with you, and pick a trail where you can be sure that you get a cell signal while you're sitting in the trees.... :D

    I had my cell and a decent signal. I didn’t feel like it was exactly an emergency because I was safely out of their reach, so while I was waiting for them to mellow out and leave I was texting my bf just in case so he would know what happened if anything did happen to me. He texted back “Let me know if you want me to come get you!” Awwww he really is my knight in shining armor 😊💕 but I knew the cows would eventually moooooove on so I told him I’d wait it out 😬

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