Familiar Animals

Familiar Animals — page 5 — Most Valuable In Iran they were sacrificed to the gods In India they are on Creatures treated as sacred In the ancient world they were used as money Almost everywhere they have been used as a source of milk butter cheese and meat Cattle have for thousands of years been humanity’s most valuable animals The word cattle once meant all kinds of domestic animals The word comes from the Latin word capitale which means Earth SEARCH LIGHT Fill in the blanks A is a male bovine and a is a female Top Cows at a livestock market Bottom Longhorn resting under a tree One popular cow is the Brown Swiss breed It is classified as a dairy cow in the United States and as a dual-purpose type in other countries It may be one of the oldest breeds of cattle A grown Brown Swiss cow weighs about 1,500 pounds Other popular breeds include the Guernsey the Jersey and the Holstein LEARN MORE READ THESE ARTICLES HORSES PIGS SHEEP 8 wealth or property The word cattle is used now only for certain bovines the animal group that includes oxen bison and buffalo A bull is a male bovine and a cow is a female though often we say cow for both A calf is the young of either sex A bovine between 1 and 2 years old is called a yearling The life span of cattle would be about 20 years but nearly all are sent to slaughter much earlier Today’s domestic cattle of Africa Asia and Indonesia are very much like the cattle that lived in those areas 2,000 years ago In Europe and America however cattle ranchers have produced new types Cattle today are classified as dairy beef or dual-purpose dual-purpose types Dual-purpose means that they are used for both dairy and beef

Familiar Animals — page 6 — CAUILE DID YOU KNOW Cattle and other bovine animals are ruminants animals that bring their food up after it has been swallowed to be rechewed and reswallowed This process is known as chewing the cud Cattle have served many purposes to human beings over the years Holstein Cows such as these can be a source of dairy products Guntur Marx Photography Curais female a is cow a and bovine male a is bull A Answer

Familiar Animals — page 7 — SEARCH LIGHT About how much taller is the tallest dog that the article mentions than the shortest one mentioned Dogs some of the most popular animals in the world come in many shapes and sizes They were among the first animals to be domesticated or tamed by humans Tim Davis Corbis 10

Familiar Animals — page 8 — DOGS Companions Loyal DID YOU KNOW The ancient Egyptian god known as Anubis had a man’s body and the head of a jackal a member of the same family as dogs and wolves The For thousands of years dogs have held a special place in people’s hearts They are known as man’s best friend This is because they can be so brave loving and loyal Dogs are used to living in groups called packs and obeying a pack leader Now humans are their pack leaders Dogs depend on people for food mostly meat and perform services in return Since prehistoric times dogs have worked for people They have tracked game animals and retrieved them on land and water guarded houses and pulled sleds They have delivered messages herded sheep and even rescued people trapped in snow They sniff out illegal drugs and explosives help police make arrests and guide visually impaired people Fast-running dogs are used in races Dogs have many abilities and features that make them useful Sharp teeth are only one of these Most dogs Guide dog in a harness Boris Djuranovic Fotolia can smell fainter odors and hear higher notes than any person And although dogs don’t see many colors they are very good at noticing movement Dogs come in many shapes sizes and temperaments A big Irish wolfhound stands about 32 inches high at the withers or top of the shoulders The chihuahua however stands only about 5 inches tall Herding dogs such as collies tend to be intelligent Terriers which were bred to catch rodents were originally quite fierce But many different breeds of dogs now make playful family pets Dogs have been domesticated for much of human history When Pompeii the ancient Italian city that was buried by the eruption of a volcano in AD 79 was dug out a dog was found lying across a child Apparently it was trying to protect the youngster LEARN MORE READ THESE ARTICLES CATS COYOTES HORSES wolfhound and the chihuahua is 27 inches Answer On average the difference between the Irish 11

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