From Warren Eckstein - Cows suffer stress when separated from their best friends
Jul-06-2011

Cows suffer from stress when they are separated from their 'best friends' even for a short period of time, a scientist has found.

Krista McLennan, who made the discovery while working towards her PhD at Northampton University, believes her findings could help improve milk yields, reports the Daily Mail.

She measured the heart rates and cortisol levels of cows to see how they cope when isolated.

Cattle were penned on their own, with their best friend or with another cow they did not know for 30 minutes and their heart rates were measured at 15-second intervals.

The research showed cows were very social animals, which often formed close bonds with friends in their herd.

"When heifers have their preferred partner with them, their stress levels in terms of their heart rates are reduced compared with if they were with a random individual," McLennan said.

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