Page 96 - The Welfare of Cattle

ChaPter 9

Sense and Sensibility: Understanding how
Cattle Perceive Our Collective World

Lily N. Edwards-Callaway
Colorado State University

CONteNtS

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 74
Understanding Umwelten of Cattle ............................................................................................. 74
Predator vs. Prey ......................................................................................................................... 74
Sensory Receptors and Their Connection to the Bovine Brain .......................................................75
Fear and Sensory Inputs ..............................................................................................................75
What’s that Smell?—The Olfactory System ....................................................................................76
Not All Noses Are Created Equal................................................................................................76
Form and Function—What’s in a Nose? .....................................................................................76
Genetics and Olfaction ................................................................................................................78
Olfaction and Human–Cattle Interaction ....................................................................................78
That Tastes Good, Doesn’t It?—Gustation ......................................................................................78
A Cow’s Tongue ..........................................................................................................................79
Taste and Human–Cattle Interaction ...........................................................................................80
Eye See You—The Vision System ...................................................................................................80
Cow’s Eye View ..........................................................................................................................80
Colors—To See or Not to See ..................................................................................................... 81
Vision and the Human–Cattle Interaction ...................................................................................82
Do You Hear What I Hear?—The Auditory System ........................................................................82
Inner Workings of an Ear ............................................................................................................83
Sound Localization......................................................................................................................83
Do Cattle Hear What Their Human Caretakers Hear? ................................................................84
Hearing and the Human–Cattle Interaction.................................................................................84
The Bovine Touch—Somatosensation .............................................................................................85
How Do Cattle Feel Touch? ........................................................................................................85
Touch between Herdmates ..........................................................................................................85
Sensory Input of Food—Texture .................................................................................................86
Can’t Touch This—Aversive Stimuli ..........................................................................................86
The Role of Touch in Human–Cattle Interactions ......................................................................86
Summary ..........................................................................................................................................87
References ........................................................................................................................................87

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