“The ox is the heavy-duty machinery of the animal world.”

This animal, for the most part, is a domesticated animal. As huge mammals, these creatures once moved in herds. Considered cattle, they transverses North America, India, Asia, Australia, and Africa. While there is the rare wild bull animal, in most of their habitats, oxen are purely bred for work.

Also called bullock, the ox is a male bovine trained to be a draft animal. That’s an animal that’s also a worker. The bullock is in the same category as service animals, transporters, and even animals that provide companionship and entertainment. Wherever you find them, oxen plow, transport, thresh, and power operations that grind grain or produce irrigation. They are usually put to work in pairs. Pairs are added as needed based on the job. Teams of oxen might go over ten pairs.

Lastly, the term “ox” also refers to a variety of bovids of a large size, including bison and buffalo. Also considered cattle, these are all domesticated creatures, usually horned, and used for heavy labor. The work teams comprise mostly of males because of their larger size compared to females.

5 Incredible Ox Facts!

Here are five great things you should know about these industrious bull animals.

• They have an intimidating look but they are not predators. They’re bred to be around humans. The bull animals are herbivores that only diet on plants, grains, and grass found around the farm.
• Like horses, oxen wear shoes. The bullock footwear’s smaller than the equine shoe because the ox has two hooves. So, it requires two shoes on each foot.
• The musk ox is only a cousin of the domestic ox. The musk ox is a wild bull animal found only in the Arctic. The bullock identification includes hefty fur that lets them cope with freezing temps.
• In many Asian communities, this animal is historically revered as a loyal, honorable creature that’s served its human masters for over 6,000 centuries.
• Each pair gets fitted with a yoke to pull cargo. The yoke gets fastened over the animal’s neck. Certain older civilizations used the yoke to punish and ridicule town residents.

Scientific Name

The Bos taurus, B. taurus, or B. taurus primigenius is a domesticated horned mammal of large size. They fall under the category of cattle with a higher classification of Bovini.

Oxen are hoofed ungulates and have two horns. There are four subgenera in this family. They are Bos, Bibos, Poephagus, and Novibos.

Appearance & Behavior

Bullocks are draft animals and have a history as laborers dating back to 4000 B.C. They are powerful creatures of great size, making them perfect for pulling carts and wagons, plowing, and powering millstones for grinding grain.

The bull animal is a quiet, peaceful bull animal. Unlike their cousin the bull, they are rarely aggressive. That has more to do with their castration than anything, which greatly impacts impulse and temperament. They pose no threat to humans in any way.

The term “dumb as an ox” is a misnomer, likely attributed to the ox’s quiet, slow nature. Some say the bull animals may be as smart as dogs. Oxen show signs of remembering places and people. They are adaptable and easily trained. They also perform chores without much supervision.

In many eastern communities, the ox is a comforting creature, a source of reliability, strength, conscientiousness, and loyalty, inspiring confidence. Other attributes include a sense of peace with oneself, trust, and patience. It’s believed they’re bull-headed (pun intended!) and opinionated.

These animals are methodical and don’t lose their temper but can become explosive. The facts are they appear dull due to their seriousness and their hate to fail.

In that world, these identifications are attributed to anyone born in the Year of the Ox, a celebration in the Chinese lunar calendar.

What is the Difference Between an Ox and a Buffalo?

The most obvious difference between the buffalo and ox is easily spotted. When it comes to size, the buffalo is noticeably larger. It also has a thicker coat than the ox. And while you can find the ox in different regions of the world, over 95 percent of the buffalo populace resides in Asia.

The two animals are both laborers. Buffalos are dairy animals and are used as pack animals, carrying heavy loads. Oxen, of course, use their strength for threshing and powering machines. The male bovines are also deployed for irrigation tasks. The ox also skid logs in dense forests.

Buffalos work in teams, while oxen work in pairs. Of the two mammals, oxen do lighter work compared to buffalo.

Oxen are the more social of the two animals. Not so friendly, buffalos are livestock and a portion of the population is wild.

The average weight of the ox is a mighty 1,500 to 3,000 pounds! On the other side of the table, we have the buffalo. While larger compared to the ox, the buffalo taps out at around a ton or 2,000 pounds.

The buffalo’s hair is grey, but the colors of their skin give them anywhere from greyish- to bluish-black. There’s also a band of light hair colors below the neck. They come in colors of black, grey, brown, or white.

Habitat

While there are wild oxen, the majority of the populace live in human-built habitats. The structures are usually sheds, stables, and open fields where they graze and walk freely. Here, the animals get fed, cleaned, rest, and congregate in small groups and herds.

Predators & Threats

To demonstrate their smarts, threatened oxen will form a circle, especially around the young. They then use their horns to defend the herd.

What Eats Oxen?

Bears and wolves are the bull animal’s only predators.

What Does the Ox Eat?

The species consists of herbivores and only graze on a diet of grass, grain, and other vegetation.

Reproduction, Babies, and Lifespan

Oxen do not reproduce as the male bovines are castrated early. For reproduction, a lot of female cattle are artificially inseminated. Newborn calves repeat the lifecycle of human-bred cattle.

The lifespan of this animal is a little over 20 years. At the end of that time, the animal may be used for food.

Population and Conservation Status

The bull animals are considered healthy species and are not endangered. While it is adaptable, that probably has less to do with survival and more to do with man’s need for the ox and a massive portion of the bull animals maintaining close and protected proximity to humankind. Organizations that monitor the risk of species endangerment haven’t seen much reason to keep an eye on oxen. The IUCN categorizes the species as of “Least Concern.” A clear indicator the ox is plentiful and going nowhere any time soon.

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