Last week, cows Nina, Mara and Quinine (pictured above) arrived at Wanstead Park, in North-East London, to do a very important job. I was lucky enough to speak to “cow minders” Dave, Lucinda and Ahliya about what the bovines are doing in a suburban London park and how they are kept from rampaging through the surrounding housing estate.

 

Each of the British Longhorn cattle weighs between 500 and 600 kilograms, so it is extremely important to keep dogs on leads around them and to maintain a safe distance, as not to provoke or disturb them, according to the City of London website.

 

When asked why the cows are in the park, Dave, Lucinda and Ahliya gave me the very good answer: their dung is helping the soil! The cows’ dung that is, not the cow minders’. They explained that when the cows defecate, their dung attracts a multitude of creatures, including dung beetles. While these critters may be slightly alarming to come across on a walk through the park, I was reassured that they do an excellent job at aerating the soil, having digested some cow faeces.

 

Some dung beetles also bury dung in the soil below, providing the earth with nutrients, as well as removing areas in which flies might breed.

 

As for how the cows are kept within the boundaries of the park, the cow minders explained to me that there is an invisible electric border around the cows’ grazing zone and that if the cows come too close to the border, their collars will make a sound. It was said that this sound deters the cows from crossing the borderline and so keeps them within their grazing area, without giving them an electric shock.

 

Nina, Mara and Quinine were jollily chewing on some fresh grass in front me as I spoke with their minders and I would vehemently recommend paying them a visit in Wanstead Park over the next three to four months, when they will be there- as I was told- nurturing the soil.

 

But, of course, pay attention to the previously mentioned City of London guidelines on keeping dogs on leads around the cows and maintaining a safe distance from them and do adhere to any signs in the park itself.

 

Ted Howden Chalmers