Beware of the bull

[Nutshell]

Just how worried should I be when I see this sign? Has anyone ever been chased by a bull or cow whilst fishing?!

 

A few of the places I've been looking to fish often have cows in the same field and I must admit that I get a tad nervous when I have about 100 pairs of eyes staring at me! Are they dangerous or am I just being a wimp?! Some of them are huge! Also, some have calves so I was wondering whether they're very protective?

 

For some reason I don't mind the black white dairy variety (Fresians?) but the brownish/reddish ones can look really mean .

 

Is it just a case of them actually being more scared of me than I am of them?

[Jonah13]

what a load of bullocks sorry i couldnt resist

cattle can be very un-nerving i find the eyes very spooky at night have heard stories of cattle trampling humans before in fields but thats not a normal occurance, i tend to move as quickly and quietly as possible past them.

 

not a definitive answer though as i'm sure someone else on here will have a better stratagy

[Peter Waller]

You should always be wary of 'bull'!

 

Cows, not a problem. Bulls, can't trust 'em, bit like politicians.

[Nutshell]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jonah13:

what a load of bullocks sorry i couldnt resist

---

I was waiting for that one!

[Andrew Boyd]

Peter is right, Cow's no problem. A bull keep well away, don't even think of going into the same field. . . ever. Bull's I can't stress enough are very, very dangerious.

Cow's can get excited, a lone angler panics and starts to run only gives them a game, not quite kiss chase, but close. Just give them a slap on the nose and they will leave you alone.

[GlennB]

I would always beware of the bull. Also male shire horses (tho only because we have a local shire stallion with a totally vicious temperament. His field is bordered with skull-and-crossbones signs)

 

Young cattle are not malicious, but can be dangerously inquisitive.

 

For years I walked our dogs through fields of young cattle, and they often came up for 'a look'. A wave of the dog's lead and a bit of a shoo would see them off. No bother. Then one day a herd ran up from a distance at speed and I was pretty soon legging it and vaulting a barbed-wire fence. Seems that dogs wind them up - maybe not surprisingly. People do sometimes get trampled, especially when dog-walking.

 

If they just gather around you quietly on a riverbank it can be a bit unsettling, imo, but no danger - except maybe to any of your kit lying on the ground. Maybe best though to avoid their obvious drinking spots if you want some peace and quiet

[chesters1]

cows tend to eat your hair whilst metal detecting ,young heiffers? can get a bit bold however and whilst not i'm sure deliberatly agressive they can spook the rest showing off and i have been knocked over.

bulls should be treated with respect ,black ones avoided like the plague.herefords ok but theres good and bad ones

we have a footpath in the field next door and when a cow has a calf look out ,they do threaten but usually back off BUT do go further if you have a dog or pram with you and do butt if nescessary .

i have been attacked mostly by goats and rams usually the goats just push against you and are extremly strong or try to stand on your back once they realise coats dont taste good after you clock them with your digger handle(great tree climbers as well)and rams butt and butt good usually from the rear.

horses usually ignore you but some do nip if your silly enough to dig up a coin in their field

 

[ 02. March 2005, 10:10 PM: Message edited by: chesters1 ]

[Nutshell]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Thanks for everyone's input. I was hoping people would say that they're not really a problem but I suppose farmers wouldn't put up yellow and black hazzard signs if they were ok! I'll definately be careful.

 

Incidently, I once read that if you are being chased by a bull it's best to run downhill because their front legs are shorter than their back legs and they find it hard to keep their balance!

[chesters1]

only if you have a hill

[Vagabond]

Have been chased out a field by a bull twice during my lifetime, and was once chased along a road when I was on a pushbike. Yes, dangerous and untrustworthy.

 

Had another encounter in Ireland.

 

Chevin, Pete and I were coming back by car from a fishing trip to Dingle. I was driving.

We had passed lots of cows, heifers and bullocks on the road (as you do in Ireland ).

 

Another bovid loomed ahead - I kept going, and then realised:

 

A. it was a bull,

 

B. it had seen us,

 

C. it didn't like what it saw and was breaking into a charge - straight down the middle of the road.

 

I considered the options (amazing how fast you can think when the pressure's on)

 

1 Meet it head on (brief review of relative masses of Ford car and large bull, coupled with some knowledge of the laws of physics re momentum suggested this was a really bad idea)

 

2. Stop. Bull would still hit car with only slightly less dire results than (1.)

 

3 Try to avoid it. Veered across road, so did the bull, so that it remained on a collision course with my radiator.

 

4. Getting really close now, so prepared to put plan 4 into operation.

 

Chevin was in the front passenger seat, also running options through his mind, but wisely deciding his best chance of survival was to keep quiet and leave the decision to the bloke behind the wheel.

 

Pete was asleep on the rear seat.

 

At the very last second, as I braced myself for plan 4, the bull swerved to hit my righthand wing. I swerved the other way, passed the bull (which was in classic head down, arched back and tail up mode) with inches to spare (OLE!)

 

Corrected the skid, straightened up, put my foot down, and kept going.

 

This woke Pete up, who wanted to know WTF.

 

I explained the foregoing.

 

"So what was the other option you thought about?" asked Pete.

 

Option 4, I said was to put the car into a 180 degree turn at the last minute, rely on the boot and rear passenger seat absorbing the impact and hopefully leaving the car still drivable.

 

"Hmmmm" said Pete.

 

He thought for a bit.

 

"But I was in the back" he said.

 

I nodded.

 

"Gee, thanks" said Pete.

 

I wonder if Chevin remembers that

 

[ 02. March 2005, 11:14 PM: Message edited by: Vagabond ]