80 Items Tagged

Livestock

Abilene, Kansas

World’s Largest Belt Buckle

Celebrating the cultural heritage of Kansas’s premier cowtown.

Dursey Island Cable Car

Ireland's only cable car once carried livestock across a treacherous strait.

A raseteur makes an acrobatic leap to dodge a bull at the arena in Aigues-Vives.

A Friendlier Form of Bullfighting in the 'Wild West' of France

Straddling sport and spectacle, the <em>course camarguaise</em> puts humans and animals on equal footing.

Alexis Steinman March 28, 2025

Jeannette Beranger with a Poitou donkey, her favorite heritage breed.

What Makes Heritage Livestock So Important? AO Wants to Know.

Jeannette Beranger is on a mission to save America’s rarest farm animals from extinction.

Andrew Coletti March 6, 2025

At Milovice Nature Reserve in Czechia, tauros cattle have been introduced with other species like horses in a recreated "prehistoric" environment.

The Story of the Aurochs Is More Complicated Than We Thought

New research helps us understand how cattle spread across the world.

Andrew Coletti December 12, 2024

El Triunfo, Mexico

Museo del Vaquero de Las Californias

This bilingual museum explores the more than 300 years of vaquero history.

Imbolc, Groundhog Day, and Brigantia All Celebrate the Coming Spring

Whatever you call it, early February's cross-quarter day reconnects us with ancient astronomical timekeeping traditions.

Rebecca Boyle January 30, 2024

All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura

The Atlas Obscura Crossword: Farm Girls

AO Puzzles January 15, 2024

military history

Was Part of the Great Wall of China Built in a Panic—or Just to Control Livestock?

The Mongolian section could have been related to Genghis Khan or to cows.

Colleen Kelly January 8, 2024

Park rangers at Culloden Battlefield have deployed some unusual lawnmowers, such as this Highland cow.

How Highland Cows Are Restoring Culloden Battlefield’s Historic Bog

Heritage breed cattle make quick work of the battlefield’s invasive plant species.

Kinsey Gidick January 4, 2024

<em>Leopardus guigna</em>, or kodkod, is the smallest wild cat in the Americas, and is often smaller than an average house cat.

The Smallest Wild Cat in the Americas Is Also the Cutest Bad Omen

In rural Chile, the kodkod, or güiña, has a bad rep for stealing chickens—and as a portent of death and disaster.

Roxanne Hoorn November 1, 2023

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma National Stockyards

The largest cattle market on earth holds live auctions open to the public every week.

A bronze statue of a cow with blanket and flower garland around her neck

Sherborn, Massachusetts

Emily the Cow Statue

Dedicated to a local cow who escaped a slaughterhouse and became an international symbol of peace.

Dampierre-sur-Boutonne, France

Asinerie du Baudet du Poitou

A public center dedicated to showcasing and conserving the enormous shaggy Poitou donkey.

Caraway and candied citrus flavor the buttery sponge.

Welsh Sheep-Shearing Cake Is a Forgotten Pastoral Pleasure

Cacen gneifo was a traditional gift for farmhands during wool-gathering season.

Jamie Ellis September 22, 2023

A <em>bouquiniste</em>, or traditional seller of vintage and antique books, on the bank of the Seine in Paris in August 2023.

Wonder Is Everywhere: The Island of Cows, a Parisian Bookseller Revolt, and More From Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.

April White September 1, 2023

Spotted skunks perform impressive handstands to appear twice their size and ward off would-be predators.

10 Tales of the World’s Quirkiest Animals

A celebration of curious, overlooked, and misunderstood creatures.

April White August 25, 2023

The beautiful, renovated "cow chapel" at the Kruger-Rumpf winery.

The Beauty and Brilliance of Germany's 'Cow Chapels'

“The shape of the interior feels sacred, but it’s not. It’s where the cows were fed.”

Christie Dietz August 17, 2023