Cow works

I have been living amongst the Masai for quite some time now but it never fails to put a smile on my face when we get a new addition to our cattle herd.

The warriors are experts at predicting when a cow is about to give birth. So often, they keep heavily pregnant ones from going out with the herd, in order to keep watch over them and extract the calf when it arrives.

My brother-in-law untying his cow after a successful birth.

Zebu cattle give birth every 15 - 18 months and carry their unborn calves for 9 months like humans. They are fertile from about three years old and are named as soon as they have given birth the first time.

Unlike bulls, cows are not commonly sold, but are kept in the family's herd till they grow old.

When wanting to milk a cow, Masai women call them by their name and they obediently trot over to be milked. A lot of them are quite docile and can be touched and stroked, others however do not like direct contact with humans.

In the video below, you can see one of our cows bringing her calf into the world with help from the warriors.