I came across one of [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herens_(cattle) ]these[/url] blocking the trail on my last trip. It was poised quite aggressively, front legs quite far apart. I made noise a long way off, dismounted and looked down/submissively, saying soothing things like "nice cow" as I walked around it, giving it a very wide berth.
It moved to block my alternative route, so I tried a third route, which it also blocked. This dance continued for about ten minutes, even with it moving up the hill to stop me. Then it started following me. I moved away quite rapidly. Then I made a final effort to get through on the trail, going so far as to throw bits of honeycake near it. Just as it was looking like I might pass it, the cow began jumping up and down doing insane rodeo movements, moving towards me and making a strange whistling noise. I am not sure if this is because I was about to get through (territorial), or if it was because I was getting near one of the other cows. In any case I grabbed my bike and [i]ran[/i] into the dense undergrowth, which I'd hitherto avoided as it was so dense I bloodied myself. This foliage went down a gorge and then almost off a cliff: it was extremely difficult to traverse (I was balancing myself and the bike [i]in[/i] trees, it was that steep) and for the first 15 minutes I could hear the cow's bell as it tried to get in. Eventually I made it to the other side of an electric fence, so I got out of the woods.
These cattle (herens cattle) are known for their aggression, are muscular and have big horns. How should I have dealt with it, bearing in mind it was very late in the day and turning back wasn't an option? Chalet host Phil said I should have charged at it on my bike from the outset, sworn at it, hit it with my pump. Some Canadians I met agreed. But I don't know, these things weigh half a ton, they could kill you if they wanted, and this cow was not chilled out about my presence. It was actively trying to stop me getting past. Do you just have to take their $hit? Surely not.
yeah i'd have shown confidence like the manager guy said. its worked in the past with cows (and ramblers) in this country!
Friend of mine, when confronted by a very frisky bullock in the UK, just got off his bike and smacked it accross the jaw, got back on and rode off.
I was laughing so much, a little bit of wee came out 😯
Do the Croc Dundee Signature Move
What, grab it by its udder?
sworn at it
😆
'Keep you bag up!'
Brilliant.
I bet Phil would have told it a shite joke and it would have got a bit confused and wandered off.
Perhaps she didn't like your bike 😀
In my years of being in this area, I have never met an angry Herens, except when they are 'combatting', now that's scary. There's a possibity of her protecting her calf nearby.
I think you were very unlucky that day, perhaps cows have bad days too and she had to take it out on someone 🙁 I must admit though, even if I love the Herens cow, she can be scary. Delicate situation, after all it's on their domaine and we all have to put up with each other.
One thing that could work, exploding an inner tube, but with the price of them now, you'd have to be really scared.
Incidently, it wasn't the troupeau above Trient was it?
No, it was the pasture between the Col de Voza and the Bionnassay glacier. There were four cows, three were really mellow. Perhaps one of them was the mama cow's adolescent kid.
Leatherman should make a tool with a built in cattle prod. Or a machete.
I love cows too, though a little less after this episode.
The weirdest thing was it didn't moo - it screeched/whistled
Sounds pretty scary. I was never bothered about cattle until a couple of weeks back when we were walking across a field full of bullocks. The whole herd headed us off from the stile we were aiming for then starting jumping, bucking and trotting towards us! I backed up slowly then ran for it!
My mate claims his Uncle has a beef herd and he knows how to deal with cattle - check this from about 2:28:
Nice video
This article is helpful on identifying aggressive behaviour but its advice is essentially "run away or carry a baseball bat, if the animal attacks have it slaughtered"
http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7article/article29.htm
So you can't just slap it in the face and move on, as I thought
Bloody cahs. I just don't know how it's even legal to let them wander all over the place causing trouble. 🙁