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Cattle are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat (called beef and vealVeal is a meat product made from young calves, appreciated for its delicate taste and tender texture. In some systems, the calves are restricted to a small, dark crate for their entire lives; producers usually say that this is done to keep their flesh whi), dairy productDairy products are generally defined as foodstuffs produced from milk. A production plant for such processing is called a dairy. Raw milk for processing generally comes from cows, but occasionally from other mammals such as goats, sheep, water buffalo, yas ( milkMilk most often means the nutrient fluid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals (including monotremes such as the Australian platypus). It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborns, before they are able to digest more diverse foods.), leatherLeather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals. Leather was a very important clothing material, and its other uses were legion. Together with wood, leather formed the basis of much ancient technology. Leather with t and as draught animalA draught animal is a domesticated animal used for heavy labour of pulling carts or plowing fields. Different types of animals are used for this purpose around the world depending on the conditions existing there and their intended use. Horses are commonls (pulling cartNote: A cart may also be short for cartridge particularly in the radio industry, where 8-track cartridges (and later CDs and zip drives) were used. A cart is a vehicle or device using, usually, two wheels for transport. A dray is a heavy transport versions, plows and the like). In some countries they are subject to religious ceremonies and respect.
Cattle were originally identified by Carolus Linnaeus as three separate species. These were Bos taurus, the European cattle, including similar types from Africa and Asia; Bos indicus, the zebu; and the extinct Bos primigenius, the aurochs. The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and European cattle. More recently these three have increasingly been grouped as one species, sometimes using the names Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus and Bos primigenius primigenius. Complicating the matter is the ability of cattle to interbreed with other closely related species. Hybrid individuals and even breeds exist, not only between European cattle and zebu but also with yaks, banteng, gaur, and bison, a cross-genera hybrid. For example, genetic testing of the Dwarf Lulu breed, the only humpless "Bos taurus-type" cattle in Nepal, found them to be a mix of European cattle, zebu and yak. Cattle cannot successfully be bred with water buffalo or African buffalo. (See aurochs for the history of domestication, zebu for pecularities of that group.)
