Cattle —colloquially cows—are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos taurus.
Cattle are commonly raised as livestock ; for meat ( beef and veal), for milk (see dairy cattle ), and for hides, which are used to make leather. They are used as riding animals and draft animals (oxen or bullocks that pull carts, plows and other implements). Another product of cattle is dung, which can be used to create manure or fuel. In some regions, such as parts of India, cattle have significant religious meaning. Cattle, mostly small breeds such as the miniature zebu, are kept as pets.
Around 10,500 years ago, cattle were domesticated from as few as 80 progenitors in southeast Turkey. According to an estimate from 2011, there are 1.4 billion cattle in the world. In 2009, cattle became one of the first livestock animals to have a fully mapped genome.
