Last month, Peggy and I went on a CIE bus tour of the Scottish Highlands, along with our grandson Cody. Photos in this series were taken by Cody, Peggy and me.
Harry Coos are just about on everyone’s to-see-list for visitors to the Scottish Highlands. Their thick ginger fur and impressive horns are the two chacterisitcs that most people note. The slender, curvy horns suggest that this coo is a female. Check out the ears as well.
Given the popularity of coos, we were surprised they weren’t everywhere. We only spotted them a half-dozen or so times during our recent bus tour exploration of the Highlands! And only had two opportunities to stop and check them out. One was on the northern island of Orkney, the other next to the Culloden Battlefield. While there are over a million cattle in Scotland, coos number only in the thousands. The fact that their milk involves an acquired taste and that their meat is very expensive are important reasons. Besides, one coo might attract 10,000 visitors (or more), but how many people could it feed.“Why is it that people always look at me as an object and only think meat and milk. Why can’t they think of me as handsome or beautiful?’
So while coos are much harder to find than normal cows, I doubt that there is a tourist shop in Scotland that doesn’t promote them. Paintings, key chains, coffee cups, shot glasses, scarves, coasters, t-shirts… you name it, you will likely find one with a coo on it. We brought home two.
A coaster for me…And a seasonal weather gauge for Peggy.
We found this fellow hanging out in a tourist shop. And no, we didn’t bring him home. Judging from the glasses going through his ears, it’s probably AI generated.
Roadside attraction.The horns are more than weapons. For example, a good scratch. They are also used to break through the snow in winter to get to grass. These guys can eat up to 140 pounds of it per day. I think that’s an oyster catcher looking on. We saw lots of them on Orkney.Harry coos is an apt description for these cows— from their head right down to their tails! They actually have two layers of fur, the shaggy looking outer layer which is oily and somewhat rain repellent and a softer warm, inner coat. Both come in handy for the long, cold highland winters. They’ve had a long time to adjust to the weather. They were first domesticated in 6th century CE in the Outer Hebrides off Scotland.Head shot.Tail shot.Ear shot.Me shot.Don’t know where the horns went on this harry coo lying down. Will assume they were cut off. Had it been a bad coo? Peggy caught a video on her iPhone of it chewing its cud. Just click on the photo/video below.
When we were finished touring the Culloden Battlefield, I ran over to capture a few photos of the Coos next to the battlefield. This is where I found this sign.One thing that stood out was a black coo. There was a time when the coos came in several colors. Then Queen Victoria visited the Highlands and stated she was quite taken by the ginger colored coos. That’s when the farmers started focusing on breeding coos with ginger coats. This is a boy, BTW. Horns are straighter and more stout.It’s just possible this lady coo was having a bad day. A cold perhaps with a runny nose? Or a chapped nose. Click the photo/video below and you can decide for yourself. (I don’t know why WP decided to put in The?)
She was licking her nose.Since we brought up Nessie above, that’s where we will go next: To Loch Ness, fabled home to the ancient monster. It was a dark cloudy day, perfect for our search.
Wandering through Time and Place 